Skip to main content

H95.53 ICD-10-CM Code: Postprocedural seroma of ear and mastoid process following a procedure on the ear and mastoid process

Compare with another code for H95.53Check this code on a claim

Billing Status: YES. This is a valid, specific, and billable ICD-10-CM reference.

Billable · FY2027A valid, specific ICD-10-CM code, reportable for dates of service in FY2027.

What you need to know

Source: CMS/NCHS Official ICD-10-CM tabular notes, quoted. From the CMS/NCHS tabular list for the release in force. A note the category or block publishes applies to this code too, and is marked with where it comes from.

The tabular list publishes no instructional note for this code itself.

Where it sits Source: CMS/NCHS

Under:Chapter 8: Diseases of the Ear and Mastoid ProcessH95 Intraoperative and postprocedural complications and disorders of ear and mastoid process, not elsewhere classifiedH95.5 Postprocedural hematoma and seroma of ear and mastoid process following a procedure

CompareCheck ClaimView Related Codes

Inpatient Payment Groups (MS-DRG)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

MS-DRGs this diagnosis helps define, as principal or secondary, per the CMS ICD-10-CM/PCS MS-DRG Definitions Manual v44, Appendix B.

  • MS-DRG 919 — COMPLICATIONS OF TREATMENT WITH MCC (MDC 21)
  • MS-DRG 920 — COMPLICATIONS OF TREATMENT WITH CC (MDC 21)
  • MS-DRG 921 — COMPLICATIONS OF TREATMENT WITHOUT CC/MCC (MDC 21)

A diagnosis appearing in a group's logic does not by itself determine the DRG assigned to a stay; the grouper uses the full claim.

Coding context

Guidelines, coding notes, decision aids, relationships (with MS-DRG and CCSR classification), hierarchy, HCC, coverage and the context map: what a coder reaches for after the core. Each section names whether it is official source data, a MedCoder-derived relationship or MedCoder editorial.

Code Overview

Postprocedural seroma of ear and mastoid process following a procedure on the ear and mastoid process is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (H95.53).

MedCoder summary Summary composed by MedCoder from this code's official ICD-10-CM record. The tabular instructional notes themselves appear verbatim below.

Official Coding Guidelines

No excerpt in the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines names this code specifically. Its chapter carries only this chapter-wide note:

Chapter 8: Diseases of the Ear and Mastoid Process (H60-H95)

Reserved for future guideline expansion

Verify Before Coding

  • CC as a secondary diagnosis (FY2027). Can raise the stay's MS-DRG severity tier.

From the code registry, the Medicare Code Editor, and the MS-DRG Definitions Manual. Check it against a full claim in Claim Check.

Relationships & Classification

MedCoder-derived relationships — computed from published CMS and AHRQ datasets

MS-DRG Grouper Relationships (FY2027)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

FY2027 MS-DRG: CC — Complication or Comorbidity. Reported as a secondary diagnosis, this code raises the stay's MS-DRG severity tier — except when the principal diagnosis is one of 76 clinically related codes on its CMS exclusion list.

Named in the grouper logic of 3 MS-DRGs: DRG 919 (MDC 21), DRG 920 (MDC 21), DRG 921 (MDC 21).

From the CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (Appendices B and C). Actual DRG assignment depends on the complete claim.

Clinical classification (AHRQ CCSR):EAR005 — Postprocedural or postoperative ear and/or mastoid process complication (default).

Clinical Classifications Software Refined (CCSR) for ICD-10-CM Diagnoses. Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Related Codes

Same clinical process (MS-DRG)

Acts as CC — raises the severity of other admissions. CMS groups these diagnoses into one MS-DRG principal-diagnosis exclusion process — a CC/MCC on this list never raises severity when the principal diagnosis is also on it.

H95.21 — Intraoperative hemorrhage and hematoma of ear and mastoid process complicating a procedure on the ear and mastoid process, H95.22 — Intraoperative hemorrhage and hematoma of ear and mastoid process complicating other procedure, H95.41 — Postprocedural hemorrhage of ear and mastoid process following a procedure on the ear and mastoid process, H95.42 — Postprocedural hemorrhage of ear and mastoid process following other procedure, H95.51 — Postprocedural hematoma of ear and mastoid process following a procedure on the ear and mastoid process, H95.52 — Postprocedural hematoma of ear and mastoid process following other procedure, H95.54 — Postprocedural seroma of ear and mastoid process following other procedure, H95.811 — Postprocedural stenosis of right external ear canal, H95.812 — Postprocedural stenosis of left external ear canal, H95.813 — Postprocedural stenosis of external ear canal, bilateral, H95.819 — Postprocedural stenosis of unspecified external ear canal, H95.88 — Other intraoperative complications and disorders of the ear and mastoid process, not elsewhere classified, H95.89 — Other postprocedural complications and disorders of the ear and mastoid process, not elsewhere classified, I85.01 — Esophageal varices with bleeding, I85.11 — Secondary esophageal varices with bleeding, I97.3 — Postprocedural hypertension, K21.9 — Gastro-esophageal reflux disease without esophagitis, K25.0 — Acute gastric ulcer with hemorrhage, K25.2 — Acute gastric ulcer with both hemorrhage and perforation, K25.4 — Chronic or unspecified gastric ulcer with hemorrhage, +55 more

Same clinical category (CCSR)

AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software groups these diagnoses under the same clinical category (Postprocedural or postoperative ear and/or mastoid process complication).

H95.139 — Mucosal cyst of postmastoidectomy cavity, unspecified ear, H95.191 — Other disorders following mastoidectomy, right ear, H95.192 — Other disorders following mastoidectomy, left ear, H95.193 — Other disorders following mastoidectomy, bilateral ears, H95.199 — Other disorders following mastoidectomy, unspecified ear, H95.21 — Intraoperative hemorrhage and hematoma of ear and mastoid process complicating a procedure on the ear and mastoid process, H95.22 — Intraoperative hemorrhage and hematoma of ear and mastoid process complicating other procedure, H95.31 — Accidental puncture and laceration of the ear and mastoid process during a procedure on the ear and mastoid process, H95.32 — Accidental puncture and laceration of the ear and mastoid process during other procedure, H95.41 — Postprocedural hemorrhage of ear and mastoid process following a procedure on the ear and mastoid process, H95.42 — Postprocedural hemorrhage of ear and mastoid process following other procedure, H95.51 — Postprocedural hematoma of ear and mastoid process following a procedure on the ear and mastoid process, H95.52 — Postprocedural hematoma of ear and mastoid process following other procedure, H95.54 — Postprocedural seroma of ear and mastoid process following other procedure, H95.811 — Postprocedural stenosis of right external ear canal, H95.812 — Postprocedural stenosis of left external ear canal, H95.813 — Postprocedural stenosis of external ear canal, bilateral, H95.819 — Postprocedural stenosis of unspecified external ear canal, H95.88 — Other intraoperative complications and disorders of the ear and mastoid process, not elsewhere classified, H95.89 — Other postprocedural complications and disorders of the ear and mastoid process, not elsewhere classified, +15 more

Contextual Map

Every relationship of H95.53 in one view: hierarchy, official tabular instructions in both directions, clinical classification, risk adjustment, MS-DRG participation, index terms and change history — each edge carrying the CMS source it derives from.

Hierarchy

Clinical classification (CCSR)

MS-DRG Grouper

MDC crossing

  • MDC 21 — Injuries, Poisonings and Toxic Effects of Drugs[MDC crossing]: “Injuries, Poisonings and Toxic Effects of Drugs — the grouper's crossing between diagnoses and procedures: a principal diagnosis sets the MDC, and same-MDC procedures move the stay to its surgical DRGs. 32,063 same-MDC procedures group here; browse them on the MDC page.”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual · FY2027

Index entries

  • Complication (s) (from) (of), postprocedural, seroma (of), ear, following procedure on ear and mastoid process[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2027
  • Complication (s) (from) (of), postprocedural, seroma (of), mastoid process, following procedure on ear and mastoid process[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2027

Nearest codes (40)

Change history

Reference

Index terms and tables, published questions and FAQ, every source behind this page with its release and checksum, the date-of-service check and the complete change history.

Indexed Clinical Terms (2)

Official source data — entries quoted as published, in the Index’s own lookup phrasing

Clinical term phrases from the official ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries that map to this code. These are alphabetic-index entries shown as the Index writes them — lookup phrasing, not necessarily the wording of a final diagnosis.

Sources for this page

Codes, titles, notes, index terms and mappings on this page are transcribed from the datasets below. Relationships MedCoder computed and text MedCoder wrote are labelled where they appear.

Code, title, tabular notes and index terms Official source data
CMS/CDC ICD-10-CM FY2027 tabular list, index and tables, effective October 1, 2026 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Coding guidelines Official source data
ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting (FY2027), quoted by section Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Claim edits Official source data
CMS Definitions of Medicare Code Edits — v44.0 (October 2026) Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Inpatient payment groups Official source data
CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (incl. Appendix B diagnosis index, Appendix C CC/MCC list, Appendix E procedure index) and IPPS Final Rule tables — v44 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Change history and date-of-service validity Official source data
CMS ICD-10-CM release addenda, ingested release by release into the change ledger Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Comparisons, relationships and the contextual map MedCoder-derived relationship
Computed by MedCoder from the tabular notes and tables above; every derived relationship is marked as derived where it appears
Summary and FAQ answers MedCoder editorial explanation
Written by MedCoder to explain the sources above: drafted with AI assistance, checked by a person against the release files, and labelled as MedCoder text where it appears. Not official text.

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

Labels on this page: Official source data · MedCoder-derived relationship · MedCoder editorial explanation. How to read the labels · All data sources and release dates · CMS coding rules

Cite this page

Reference this page in a research guide, syllabus or article. The release is included because code content changes each year.

MedCoder.ai. "H95.53 — Postprocedural seroma of ear and mastoid process following a procedure on the ear and mastoid process." ICD-10-CM FY2027. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/h95.53-postprocedural-seroma-of-ear-and-mastoid-process-following-a-procedure-on-the-ear-and-mastoid-process

Change history

  • FY2017 — October 1, 2016
    Added to the code set
    Postprocedural seroma of ear and mastoid process following a procedure on the ear and mastoid process
    FY2017 changes

Nearest Codes in This Family

Official ICD-10-CM classifications closest to H95.53 in its code family, with their registry titles.

View all codes in the H95 family