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Q10-Q18 vs Q35

Q10-Q18 (Congenital malformations of eye, ear, face and neck (Q10-Q18)) compared with Q35 (Cleft palate), 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 Q10-Q18 lists Q35 under Excludes2, which marks them as distinct conditions.

Official rule
What is different?

The conditions named.Q10-Q18 is “Congenital malformations of eye, ear, face and neck (Q10-Q18)”; Q35 is “Cleft palate”.

Registry fact

Can these codes be reported together?

Yes, when both are documented.Q10-Q18 lists Q35 under Excludes2: “cleft lip and cleft palate (Q35-Q37)”. Excludes2 marks distinct conditions that may both be reported when both are documented.

Official ruleGuide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2

Is there an Excludes2 relationship?

Yes.Q10-Q18’s tabular entry: “cleft lip and cleft palate (Q35-Q37)”. The note covers Q35.

Official ruleGuide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2

Is one a parent or header code?

Both are headers.Both are non-billable headers, and neither contains the other.

Registry fact

Nothing found in 3 other checks; 1 check does not apply
Is there an Excludes1 relationship?

None.Neither entry carries an Excludes1 note that names the other code. Q35 carries 1 Excludes1 note covering other codes; the side-by-side table quotes them.

Official rule

Is one more specific?

Not comparable.The codes sit in different categories; specificity is only comparable within one category.

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

Q10-Q18
Congenital malformations of eye, ear, face and neck (Q10-Q18)
↔
Q35
Cleft palate

What we found

Yes, when both are documented.Q10-Q18 carries an Excludes2 note covering Q35: “cleft lip and cleft palate (Q35-Q37)”

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
Q10-Q18

Congenital malformations of eye, ear, face and neck (Q10-Q18)

Q35

Cleft palate

StatusDiffers
Q10-Q18
Non-billable header

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

Q35
Non-billable header

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

Report instead: Q35.1, Q35.3, Q35.5, Q35.7, Q35.9

Excludes1Differs
Q10-Q18

None at this code

Q35
  • cleft palate with cleft lip (Q37.-)
Excludes2Differs
Q10-Q18
  • cleft lip and cleft palate (Q35-Q37)
  • congenital malformation of cervical spine (Q05.0, Q05.5, Q67.5, Q76.0-Q76.4)
  • congenital malformation of larynx (Q31.-)
  • congenital malformation of lip NEC (Q38.0)
  • congenital malformation of nose (Q30.-)
  • congenital malformation of parathyroid gland (Q89.2)
  • congenital malformation of thyroid gland (Q89.2)
Q35
  • Robin's syndrome (Q87.0)
Use additional codeDiffers
Q10-Q18

None at this code

Q35
  • code to identify associated malformation of the nose (Q30.2)
CategoryDiffers
Q10-Q18

Q10 Congenital malformations of eyelid, lacrimal apparatus and orbit

Q35

Is itself a category

ChapterSame for both

Q00-QA1 — Congenital Malformations, Deformations and Chromosomal Abnormalities (Q00-QA1)

IncludesDiffers
Q10-Q18

None at this code

Q35
  • fissure of palate
  • palatoschisis

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