Coding and coverage · ICD-10-CM
T81.520 Obstruction due to foreign body accidentally left in body following surgical operation
This code needs a 7th character (use X as a placeholder for missing characters).
7th character codes
- T81.520A Obstruction due to foreign body accidentally left in body following surgical operation, initial encounter
- T81.520D Obstruction due to foreign body accidentally left in body following surgical operation, subsequent encounter
- T81.520S Obstruction due to foreign body accidentally left in body following surgical operation, sequela
Instructional notes
Chapter 19
Excludes2Not included here: the patient may have both; report both when both are present.
Use additional codeAdd a second code for the full picture.
- code to identify any retained foreign body, if applicable (Z18.-)
Notes
- Use secondary code(s) from Chapter 20, External causes of morbidity, to indicate cause of injury. Codes within the T section that include the external cause do not require an additional external cause code
- The chapter uses the S-section for coding different types of injuries related to single body regions and the T-section to cover injuries to unspecified body regions as well as poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes.
T81
Excludes2Not included here: the patient may have both; report both when both are present.
- complications following immunization (T88.0-T88.1)
- complications following infusion, transfusion and therapeutic injection (T80.-)
- complications of transplanted organs and tissue (T86.-)
- specified complications classified elsewhere, such as:
- complication of prosthetic devices, implants and grafts (T82-T85)
- dermatitis due to drugs and medicaments (L23.3, L24.4, L25.1, L27.0-L27.1)
- endosseous dental implant failure (M27.6-)
- floppy iris syndrome (IFIS) (intraoperative) H21.81
- intraoperative and postprocedural complications of specific body system (D78.-, E36.-, E89.-, G97.3-, G97.4, H59.3-, H59.-, H95.2-, H95.3, I97.4-, I97.5, J95, K91.-, L76.-, M96.-, N99.-)
- ostomy complications (J95.0-, K94.-, N99.5-)
- plateau iris syndrome (post-iridectomy) (postprocedural) H21.82
- poisoning and toxic effects of drugs and chemicals (T36-T65 with fifth or sixth character 1-4)
Use additional codeAdd a second code for the full picture.
7th charactersThe appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category T81
- A initial encounter
- D subsequent encounter
- S sequela
Chapter 19: Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes · T07-T88 Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (T07-T88)
Source: ICD-10-CM FY 2027 code descriptions and tabular list (CMS and CDC National Center for Health Statistics), effective 2026-10-01 through 2027-09-30 · CMS ICD-10 files. HCC mapping: CMS-HCC V28, payment year 2027. As of 2026-11-04.
Coverage and payment depend on the claim details; confirm with the Medicare Administrative Contractor.