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H44.623 vs H44.7

H44.623 (Retained (old) magnetic foreign body in iris or ciliary body, bilateral) compared with H44.7 (Retained (old) intraocular foreign body, nonmagnetic), from the official CMS tabular data.

Current data releases:ICD-10-CM FY2027 · ICD-10-PCS FY2027 · HCPCS October 2026 · MS-DRG v44 · Medicare Code Editor v44.0 · NCCI PTP Q4 2026 · MUE Q4 2026 · NCD code lists 2026-01 · LCD export September 28, 2026 · All releases and sources

Summary

These codes can be reported together when both conditions are documented, because H44.623 lists H44.7 under Excludes2, which marks them as distinct conditions.

Official rule
What is different?

Title wording and billing status.The titles share “Retained (old)”; H44.623 says “magnetic foreign body in iris or ciliary body, bilateral” where H44.7 says “intraocular foreign body, nonmagnetic”. H44.7 is a non-billable header; H44.623 is billable.

Registry fact

Can these codes be reported together?

Yes, when both are documented.H44.623 lists H44.7 under Excludes2: “retained (old) intraocular foreign body, nonmagnetic (H44.7-)”. Excludes2 marks distinct conditions that may both be reported when both are documented.

Official ruleGuide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2

Is there an Excludes2 relationship?

Yes.H44.623’s tabular entry: “retained (old) intraocular foreign body, nonmagnetic (H44.7-)”. The note covers H44.7.

Official ruleGuide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2

Is one a parent or header code?

One is a header.H44.7 is a non-billable header, but H44.623 is not one of its subdivisions.

Registry fact

Nothing found in 4 other checks
Is there an Excludes1 relationship?

None.Neither entry carries an Excludes1 note that names the other code. H44.623 carries 1 Excludes1 note and H44.7 carries 1 Excludes1 note covering other codes; the side-by-side table quotes them.

Official rule

Is one more specific?

No.Neither is a subdivision of the other, and neither title is the unspecified form; they describe different conditions within category H44.

Registry fact

Are there sequencing instructions?

None.Neither entry carries a Code First or Use Additional Code note that names the other.

Official rule

Are there other coding relationships?

None found.No laterality, encounter-phase, Table of Neoplasms, Table of Drugs and Chemicals, or history-versus-active-disease relationship links these codes.

MedCoder-derived

Official rule: a tabular instructional note or a section of the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, quoted as published. Registry fact: the codes’ own published attributes (titles, billable status, position in the hierarchy, code set). MedCoder-derived: a reading MedCoder computes from those facts; it is not itself a rule. How to read the labels

Can these codes be reported together?

Informational

Excludes2 relationship

H44.623
Retained (old) magnetic foreign body in iris or ciliary body, bilateral
↔
H44.7
Retained (old) intraocular foreign body, nonmagnetic

What we found

Yes, when both are documented.H44.623 carries an Excludes2 note covering H44.7: “retained (old) intraocular foreign body, nonmagnetic (H44.7-)”

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

What to review

Report both only when the documentation supports both conditions; otherwise report the one documented.

Guide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2Check these on a claim

Why it matters

An Excludes2 note means the excluded condition is not part of the code above it, but a patient can have both. Report both when both are documented.

Source / rule

CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes

Official guidance behind these answers

  • Section I.A.12.b — Excludes2 · applies to: Excludes2

    A type 2 Excludes note represents “Not included here.” An excludes2 note indicates that the condition excluded is not part of the condition represented by the code, but a patient may have both conditions at the same time. When an Excludes2 note appears under a code, it is acceptable to use both the code and the excluded code together, when appropriate.

    ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines FY2027

Quoted from the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting in effect for the release shown. The tabular notes above are the code-level instruction; these sections are the convention that says how such a note is applied. Source document (CMS PDF) · Release and checksum

Side by side

Similar descriptions do not make codes interchangeable. The documentation and the official instructions decide which code applies.

Official descriptionDiffers
H44.623

Retained (old) magnetic foreign body in iris or ciliary body, bilateral

H44.7

Retained (old) intraocular foreign body, nonmagnetic

StatusDiffers
H44.623
Billable
H44.7
Non-billable header

A header is not reported on a claim; a code beneath it is.

Report instead: H44.701, H44.702, H44.703, H44.709, H44.711

Excludes1Same for both
  • current intraocular foreign body (S05.-)
Excludes2Differs
Only at H44.623
  • retained (old) intraocular foreign body, nonmagnetic (H44.7-)
Only at H44.7
  • retained (old) intraocular foreign body, magnetic (H44.6-)
Shared by both codes (2 notes)
  • retained foreign body in eyelid (H02.81-)
  • retained (old) foreign body following penetrating wound of orbit (H05.5-)
Use additional codeDiffers
H44.623
  • code to identify magnetic foreign body (Z18.11)
H44.7
  • code to identify nonmagnetic foreign body (Z18.01-Z18.10, Z18.12, Z18.2-Z18.9)
CategorySame for both

H44 Disorders of globe

ChapterSame for both

H00-H59 — Diseases of the Eye and Adnexa (H00-H59)

IncludesSame for both
  • disorders affecting multiple structures of eye

No Code first, Code also and 7th character note at either code.

Notes are the code’s own tabular entry, quoted as published. A note that names the other code is the one the verdict above rests on. In a row that differs, each code’s own notes are listed under it, and the notes every code shares are listed once beneath them.

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Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2027). A coding-rule comparison, not billing advice: payer-specific edits and medical-necessity policy are outside its scope. All data sources