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Q35-Q37 vs Q87.0

Q35-Q37 (Cleft lip and cleft palate (Q35-Q37)) compared with Q87.0 (Congenital malformation syndromes predominantly affecting facial appearance), 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 Q35-Q37 lists Q87.0 under Excludes2, which marks them as distinct conditions.

Official rule
What is different?

The conditions named and billing status.Q35-Q37 is “Cleft lip and cleft palate (Q35-Q37)”; Q87.0 is “Congenital malformation syndromes predominantly affecting facial appearance”. Q35-Q37 is a non-billable header; Q87.0 is billable.

Registry fact

Can these codes be reported together?

Yes, when both are documented.Q35-Q37 lists Q87.0 under Excludes2: “Robin's syndrome (Q87.0)”. Excludes2 marks distinct conditions that may both be reported when both are documented.

Official ruleGuide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2

Is there an Excludes1 relationship?

None.Neither entry carries an Excludes1 note that names the other code.

Official rule

Is there an Excludes2 relationship?

Yes.Q35-Q37’s tabular entry: “Robin's syndrome (Q87.0)”. The note covers Q87.0.

Official ruleGuide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2

Is one more specific?

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

Is one a parent or header code?

One is a header.Q35-Q37 is a non-billable header, but Q87.0 is not one of its subdivisions.

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

Q35-Q37
Cleft lip and cleft palate (Q35-Q37)
↔
Q87.0
Congenital malformation syndromes predominantly affecting facial appearance

What we found

Yes, when both are documented.Q35-Q37 carries an Excludes2 note covering Q87.0: “Robin's syndrome (Q87.0)”

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
Q35-Q37

Cleft lip and cleft palate (Q35-Q37)

Q87.0

Congenital malformation syndromes predominantly affecting facial appearance

StatusDiffers
Q35-Q37
Non-billable header

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

Q87.0
Billable
Excludes2Differs
Q35-Q37
  • Robin's syndrome (Q87.0)
Q87.0

None at this code

Use additional codeDiffers
Q35-Q37
  • code to identify associated malformation of the nose (Q30.2)
Q87.0
  • code(s) to identify all associated manifestations
CategoryDiffers
Q35-Q37

Q35 Cleft palate

Q87.0

Q87 Other specified congenital malformation syndromes affecting multiple systems

ChapterSame for both

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

IncludesDiffers
Q35-Q37

None at this code

Q87.0
  • Acrocephalopolysyndactyly
  • Acrocephalosyndactyly [Apert]
  • Cryptophthalmos syndrome
  • Cyclopia

No Excludes1, 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, notes every code shares are dimmed.

Edit this comparisonCheck a whole claim

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