T81.5 — Complications of foreign body accidentally left in body following procedure
T81.5 is a non-billable header ICD-10-CM code for complications of foreign body accidentally left in body following procedure. 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 T81
- A
- initial encounter
- D
- subsequent encounter
- S
- sequela
Other codes that can never be billed with T81.5
These codes carry an Excludes1 note pointing at T81.5. The conflict binds both ways, but ICD-10-CM only writes it down on one side — so you would not find this by reading T81.5 alone.
- Z18Retained foreign body fragments
Risk adjustment
T81.5 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 T81.5
5 child codes. Green means billable.
- T81.50Unspecified complication of foreign body accidentally left in body following procedure
- T81.51Adhesions due to foreign body accidentally left in body following procedure
- T81.52Obstruction due to foreign body accidentally left in body following procedure
- T81.53Perforation due to foreign body accidentally left in body following procedure
- T81.59Other complications of foreign body accidentally left in body following procedure
Related codes at this level
Codes that share T81. If T81.5 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.
- T81.1Postprocedural shock
- T81.3Disruption of wound, not elsewhere classified
- T81.4Infection following a procedure
- T81.6Acute reaction to foreign substance accidentally left during a procedure
- T81.7Vascular complications following a procedure, not elsewhere classified
- T81.8Other complications of procedures, not elsewhere classified
- T81.9Unspecified complication of procedure
Questions about T81.5
- Is T81.5 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
- No. T81.5 is a non-billable header code. Code to a higher level of specificity using one of its child codes.
- Where does T81.5 sit in the tabular list?
- Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88), in the block Complications of surgical and medical care, not elsewhere classified (T80-T88).