T18.9 — Foreign body of alimentary tract, part unspecified
T18.9 is a non-billable header ICD-10-CM code for foreign body of alimentary tract, part unspecified. It cannot be billed on its own: choose one of the more specific child codes below. This code also requires a 7th character before it is complete.
This code requires a 7th character
The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category T18
- A
- initial encounter
- D
- subsequent encounter
- S
- sequela
Inclusion terms
Alternative wordings a physician may use in the chart for this same code.
- Foreign body in digestive system NOS
- Swallowed foreign body NOS
Risk adjustment
T18.9 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.
How T18.9 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 T18.9.
- Bezoar
- Phytobezoar
- Trichobezoar
- Trichophytobezoar
- Foreign body›alimentary tract
- Foreign body›ingestion, ingested NOS
- Foreign body›swallowed
- Foreign body›entering through orifice›alimentary canal
- Foreign body›entering through orifice›digestive organ or tract NOS
- Foreign body›entering through orifice›gastrointestinal tract
Code to one of these instead T18.9
3 child codes. Green means billable.
Related codes at this level
Codes that share T18. If T18.9 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.
Questions about T18.9
- Is T18.9 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
- No. T18.9 is a non-billable header code. Code to a higher level of specificity using one of its child codes.
- Where does T18.9 sit in the tabular list?
- Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88), in the block Effects of foreign body entering through natural orifice (T15-T19).