T15 vs T15-T19
T15 (Foreign body on external eye) compared with T15-T19 (Effects of foreign body entering through natural orifice (T15-T19)), 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 represent different levels of the same hierarchy: T15 is the non-billable header that contains T15-T19, so only T15-T19 (or a sibling) is reported.
Registry fact- What is different?
The conditions named.T15 is “Foreign body on external eye”; T15-T19 is “Effects of foreign body entering through natural orifice (T15-T19)”.
Registry fact
- Can these codes be reported together?
Not as a pair.T15 is the non-billable header that contains T15-T19. A header is not reported on a claim, so the choice is T15-T19 or a sibling that matches the documentation.
Registry fact
- Is one more specific?
Yes.T15-T19 is a subdivision of T15 in the tabular hierarchy, so it is the more specific of the two.
Registry fact
- Is one a parent or header code?
Yes.T15 is the non-billable header that contains T15-T19. A header stands for the whole family beneath it and is not reported on a claim.
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.
Official rule
- Is there an Excludes2 relationship?
None.Neither entry carries an Excludes2 note that names the other code. T15 carries 9 Excludes2 notes and T15-T19 carries 4 Excludes2 notes covering other codes; the side-by-side table quotes them.
Official rule
- 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?
Not as a pair — T15 is not reportable. T15 is the non-billable category that contains T15-T19.
A header stands for the whole family of codes beneath it and is not reported on a claim, so the choice is T15-T19 or a sibling that matches the documentation. No Excludes1/Excludes2 relationship exists between these codes in the official tabular list.
Official guidance behind these answers
Section I.B.2 — Level of Detail in Coding · applies to: T15 and T15-T19
Diagnosis codes are to be used and reported at their highest number of characters available and to the highest level of specificity documented in the medical record. ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes are composed of codes with 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 characters. Codes with three characters are included in ICD-10-CM as the heading of a category of codes that may be further subdivided by the use of fourth and/or fifth characters and/or sixth characters, which provide greater detail. A three-character code is to be used only if it is not further subdivided. A code is invalid if it has not been coded to the full number of characters required for that code, including the 7th character, if applicable.
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.
Foreign body on external eye
Effects of foreign body entering through natural orifice (T15-T19)
A header is not reported on a claim; a code beneath it is.
- foreign body in penetrating wound of orbit and eye ball (S05.4-, S05.5-)
- open wound of eyelid and periocular area (S01.1-)
- retained foreign body in eyelid (H02.8-)
- retained (old) foreign body in penetrating wound of orbit and eye ball (H05.5-, H44.6-, H44.7-)
- superficial foreign body of eyelid and periocular area (S00.25-)
No note of its own beyond the shared notes
Shared by both codes (4 notes)
- foreign body accidentally left in operation wound (T81.5-)
- foreign body in penetrating wound - See open wound by body region
- residual foreign body in soft tissue (M79.5)
- splinter, without open wound - See superficial injury by body region
- code, if known, for foreign body entering into or through a natural orifice (W44.-)
S00-T88 — Injury, Poisoning and Certain Other Consequences of External Causes (S00-T88)
- The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category T15
None at this code
No Excludes1, Code first, Code also and Includes 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.
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