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H44.6 vs S05.5

H44.6 (Retained (old) intraocular foreign body, magnetic) compared with S05.5 (Penetrating wound with foreign body of eyeball), from the official CMS tabular data. Do not report these codes together: the official tabular list marks them Excludes1.

Can these codes be reported together?

No — do not report together. H44.6 carries an Excludes1 note covering S05.5: “current intraocular foreign body (S05.-)”

Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).

Yes, when both are documented. S05.5 carries an Excludes2 note covering H44.6: “retained (old) intraocular foreign body (H44.6-, H44.7)”

Excludes2 marks distinct conditions — both may be reported when both are documented.

Side by side

H44.6Retained (old) intraocular foreign body, magneticS05.5Penetrating wound with foreign body of eyeball
Billing statusNon-billable header

Report instead: H44.601, H44.602, H44.603, H44.609, H44.611

Non-billable header

Report instead: S05.50XA, S05.50XD, S05.50XS, S05.51XA, S05.51XD

ClassificationH00-H59 — Diseases of the Eye and Adnexa (H00-H59)S00-T88 — Injury, Poisoning and Certain Other Consequences of External Causes (S00-T88)
DefinitionRetained (old) intraocular foreign body, magnetic is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (H44.6).Penetrating wound with foreign body of eyeball is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (S05.5).
7th characterThe appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S05
Includes
disorders affecting multiple structures of eye
open wound of eye and orbit
injuries of ear
injuries of eye
injuries of face [any part]
Use additional code
code to identify magnetic foreign body (Z18.11)

Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources