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K35.32

K35.32Acute appendicitis with perforation, localized peritonitis, and gangrene, without abscess

Billable / specific codeICD-10-CM

K35.32 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for acute appendicitis with perforation, localized peritonitis, and gangrene, without abscess. It is valid for submission on a claim.

Inclusion terms

Alternative wordings a physician may use in the chart for this same code.

  • (Acute) appendicitis with perforation NOS
  • Perforated appendix NOS
  • Ruptured appendix (with localized peritonitis) NOS

Risk adjustment

K35.32 does not map to an HCC and does not risk-adjust under CMS-HCC V28. That is normal — most ICD-10 codes do not. It still needs to be coded correctly; it just will not move a RAF score.

Medicare coverage

K35.32 is named in 2 Medicare coverage policies 2 listing it as supporting medical necessity. Which of them applies to you depends on your Medicare contractor, and coverage genuinely differs by state.

  • A55336Billing and Coding: Retroperitoneal Ultrasound
  • A56421Billing and Coding: CT of the Abdomen and Pelvis

How K35.32 is indexed

Coders do not find codes by browsing the tabular list — they look them up in the alphabetic index, under the word the physician wrote. These are the index entries that lead here, so you can see which chart wordings map to K35.32.

  • Appendicitisruptured NOS(with localized peritonitis)
  • Perforation, perforatedappendix
  • Perforation, perforatedcecum
  • Rupture, rupturedappendix(with peritonitis)
  • Appendicitiswithperforation NOS
  • Perforation, perforatedappendixwith localized peritonitis
  • Perforation, perforatedcecumwith localized peritonitis
  • Rupture, rupturedappendixwith localized peritonitis
  • Appendicitiswithperitonitis NECrupture(with localized peritonitis)
  • Peritonitiswith or followingappendicitiswith perforation or rupture
  • Appendicitiswithperitonitis NEClocalizedwithperforation
  • Appendicitisacutewithperitonitis NEClocalizedwithperforation

Related codes at this level

Codes that share K35.3. If K35.32 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.

Questions about K35.32

Is K35.32 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
Yes. K35.32 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
Where does K35.32 sit in the tabular list?
Diseases of the digestive system (K00-K95), in the block Diseases of appendix (K35-K38).
ICD-10-CMFY2026-Apr· effective April 1, 2026

Loaded directly from the CMS/NCHS ICD-10-CM public-domain release — see data sources and our editorial policy. If this page disagrees with the CMS tabular list, this page is wrong. Reference information for professional coders; not medical or billing advice.