Is T79.A a billable ICD-10-CM code?

No. T79.A is a non-billable header code. Code to a higher level of specificity using one of its child codes.

Where does T79.A sit in the tabular list?

Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88), in the block Certain early complications of trauma (T79).

What cannot be coded together with T79.A?

T79.A carries an Excludes1 note, which means the conditions it lists can never be coded together with it on the same encounter.

T79.A

T79.A — Traumatic compartment syndrome

Non-billable headerICD-10-CM

T79.A is a non-billable header ICD-10-CM code for traumatic compartment syndrome. 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 T79

A: initial encounter
D: subsequent encounter
S: sequela

Excludes1 — never code together

These conditions cannot occur together. Billing both on the same encounter is a denial.

fibromyalgia (M79.7)
nontraumatic compartment syndrome (M79.A-)

Excludes2 — not included here, but may coexist

The excluded condition is not part of this code, but a patient can have both. You may code both.

traumatic ischemic infarction of muscle (T79.6)

Other codes that can never be billed with T79.A

These codes carry an Excludes1 note pointing at T79.A. The conflict binds both ways, but ICD-10-CM only writes it down on one side — so you would not find this by reading T79.A alone.

M62.2Nontraumatic ischemic infarction of muscle
M79.ANontraumatic compartment syndrome

Risk adjustment

T79.A 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.

Code to one of these instead T79.A

5 child codes. Green means billable.

Related codes at this level

Codes that share T79. If T79.A is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.

Questions about T79.A

Is T79.A a billable ICD-10-CM code?: No. T79.A is a non-billable header code. Code to a higher level of specificity using one of its child codes.
Where does T79.A sit in the tabular list?: Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88), in the block Certain early complications of trauma (T79).
What cannot be coded together with T79.A?: T79.A carries an Excludes1 note, which means the conditions it lists can never be coded together with it on the same encounter.