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K68.11 ICD-10-CM Code: Postprocedural retroperitoneal abscess

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

Coding at a Glance

Tabular directives
1 Excludes2

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 v43, Appendix B.

  • MS-DRG 791 — PREMATURITY WITH MAJOR PROBLEMS (MDC 15)
  • MS-DRG 793 — FULL TERM NEONATE WITH MAJOR PROBLEMS (MDC 15)
  • MS-DRG 856 — POSTOPERATIVE OR POST-TRAUMATIC INFECTIONS WITH O.R. PROCEDURES WITH MCC (MDC 18)
  • MS-DRG 857 — POSTOPERATIVE OR POST-TRAUMATIC INFECTIONS WITH O.R. PROCEDURES WITH CC (MDC 18)
  • MS-DRG 858 — POSTOPERATIVE OR POST-TRAUMATIC INFECTIONS WITH O.R. PROCEDURES WITHOUT CC/MCC (MDC 18)
  • MS-DRG 862 — POSTOPERATIVE AND POST-TRAUMATIC INFECTIONS WITH MCC (MDC 18)
  • MS-DRG 863 — POSTOPERATIVE AND POST-TRAUMATIC INFECTIONS WITHOUT MCC (MDC 18)

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 instructions

Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for K68.11 in the official ICD-10-CM tabular list, quoted as published.

Source: CMS/CDC — ICD-10-CM Tabular ListRelease: FY2026Effective: October 1, 2025

Excludes2 — Not Included Here

Conditions not covered by this code, but which may be reported alongside it when both are present.

Coder workflow for K68.11

MedCoder structured workflow — derived from this code’s own official record

Documentation check

The provider’s diagnostic statement
Codes are assigned from the provider’s documented diagnosis, not from clinical criteria, test values or a medication list (Guidelines I.A.19).

Official instructions as workflow

  • Excludes2 — not part of K68.11(1 note)

    Coding workflow: The conditions named in this note are not included in K68.11. When the record documents both, both may be reported; the note is a boundary, not a prohibition.

    CompareT81.4

    See the official tabular notes · Guidelines I.A.12.b

Every row is derived from this code’s own record — its title, tabular notes, 7th-character family and same-category siblings — with fixed MedCoder wording; nothing is inferred about a patient. The official notes and guideline text are in the sections each row links to, and they control.

Code Overview

Postprocedural retroperitoneal abscess is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (K68.11).

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

Indexed Clinical Terms (3)

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.

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 11: Diseases of the Digestive System (K00-K95)

Reserved for future guideline expansion

Verify Before Coding

  • CC as a secondary diagnosis (FY2026). 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 structured relationships — computed from published CMS and AHRQ datasets

Other codes that name K68.11 or its code family, from the CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes. Tabular-note edges are stored at the code family level that carries each note.

Referenced by 2 Excludes1 notes across 2 chapters: K65 — Peritonitis (via K68.-), O86.0 — Infection of obstetric surgical wound.

These codes’ tabular lists mark this diagnosis as mutually exclusive — not reported together unless the conditions are documented as unrelated.

Referenced by 4 Excludes2 notes across 2 chapters: K6A.0 — Pelvic abscess (via K68.1.-), K91 — Intraoperative and postprocedural complications and disorders of digestive system, not elsewhere classified, K91.89 — Other postprocedural complications and disorders of digestive system, T81.4 — Infection following a procedure.

These codes’ tabular lists name this diagnosis as distinct — both may be reported when both are documented.

MS-DRG Grouper Relationships (FY2026)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

FY2026 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 53 clinically related codes on its CMS exclusion list.

Named in the grouper logic of 7 MS-DRGs: DRG 791 (MDC 15), DRG 793 (MDC 15), DRG 856 (MDC 18), DRG 857 (MDC 18), DRG 858 (MDC 18), DRG 862 (MDC 18), DRG 863 (MDC 18).

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

Clinical classification (AHRQ CCSR):DIG016 — Peritonitis and intra-abdominal abscess (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.

H59.819 — Chorioretinal scars after surgery for detachment, unspecified eye, H59.88 — Other intraoperative complications of eye and adnexa, not elsewhere classified, H59.89 — Other postprocedural complications and disorders of eye and adnexa, not elsewhere classified, 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, I97.3 — Postprocedural hypertension, L76.81 — Other intraoperative complications of skin and subcutaneous tissue, L76.82 — Other postprocedural complications of skin and subcutaneous tissue, M96.89 — Other intraoperative and postprocedural complications and disorders of the musculoskeletal system, N98.1 — Hyperstimulation of ovaries, N98.2 — Complications of attempted introduction of fertilized ovum following in vitro fertilization, N98.3 — Complications of attempted introduction of embryo in embryo transfer, N98.8 — Other complications associated with artificial fertilization, N98.9 — Complication associated with artificial fertilization, unspecified, T81.40XA — Infection following a procedure, unspecified, initial encounter, T81.41XA — Infection following a procedure, superficial incisional surgical site, initial encounter, +32 more

Same clinical category (CCSR)

AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software groups these diagnoses under the same clinical category (Peritonitis and intra-abdominal abscess).

K61.0 — Anal abscess, K61.1 — Rectal abscess, K61.2 — Anorectal abscess, K61.3 — Ischiorectal abscess, K61.31 — Horseshoe abscess, K61.39 — Other ischiorectal abscess, K61.4 — Intrasphincteric abscess, K61.5 — Supralevator abscess, K63.0 — Abscess of intestine, K65.0 — Generalized (acute) peritonitis, K65.1 — Peritoneal abscess, K65.2 — Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, K65.3 — Choleperitonitis, K65.4 — Sclerosing mesenteritis, K65.8 — Other peritonitis, K65.9 — Peritonitis, unspecified, K67 — Disorders of peritoneum in infectious diseases classified elsewhere, K68.12 — Psoas muscle abscess, K68.19 — Other retroperitoneal abscess, K75.0 — Abscess of liver, +32 more

Same Index main term, other category

The ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries files this code under the main term “Abscess”; these codes share that main term but sit in a different category of the Tabular List.

K57.81 — Diverticulitis of intestine, part unspecified, with perforation and abscess with bleeding (with, diverticular disease, with bleeding), K61.0 — Anal abscess (anus), K61.1 — Rectal abscess (rectum), K61.2 — Anorectal abscess (anorectal), K61.31 — Horseshoe abscess (horseshoe), K61.39 — Other ischiorectal abscess (ischiorectal), K61.4 — Intrasphincteric abscess (intersphincteric), K61.5 — Supralevator abscess (supralevator), K63.0 — Abscess of intestine (colon), K65.1 — Peritoneal abscess (omentum), K6A.01 — Prevesical abscess (retropubic), K6A.09 — Other pelvic abscess (pelvis, pelvic), K75.0 — Abscess of liver (liver), K81.0 — Acute cholecystitis (gallbladder), K94.02 — Colostomy infection (colostomy), K94.12 — Enterostomy infection (ileostomy), L02.01 — Cutaneous abscess of face (chin), L02.11 — Cutaneous abscess of neck (neck), L02.211 — Cutaneous abscess of abdominal wall (loin), L02.212 — Cutaneous abscess of back [any part, except buttock and flank] (back), +157 more

Contextual Map

Every relationship of K68.11 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.

Run K68.11 with these 6 related codes in Claim Check

Hierarchy

Excludes2

Referenced by Excludes1 notes

Referenced by Excludes2 notes

Clinical classification (CCSR)

MS-DRG Grouper

MDC crossing

  • MDC 15 — Newborns and Other Neonates with Conditions Originating in Perinatal Period[MDC crossing]: “Newborns and Other Neonates with Conditions Originating in Perinatal Period — 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.”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual · FY2026
  • MDC 18 — Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Systemic or Unspecified Sites[MDC crossing]: “Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Systemic or Unspecified Sites — 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. 1 same-MDC procedures group here; browse them on the MDC page.”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual · FY2026

Index entries

  • Abscess (connective tissue) (embolic) (fistulous) (infective) (metastatic) (multiple) (pernicious) (pyogenic) (septic), intra-abdominal, postprocedural, retroperitoneal[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Abscess (connective tissue) (embolic) (fistulous) (infective) (metastatic) (multiple) (pernicious) (pyogenic) (septic), postoperative (any site), retroperitoneal[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Abscess (connective tissue) (embolic) (fistulous) (infective) (metastatic) (multiple) (pernicious) (pyogenic) (septic), retroperitoneal NEC, postprocedural[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026

Nearest codes

Change history

  • FY2016 — In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption [Change history]— CMS release files (code change ledger) · icd10cm-fy2016

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 FY2026 tabular list, index and tables, effective October 1, 2025 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Coding guidelines Official source data
ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting (FY2026), quoted by section Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Claim edits Official source data
CMS Definitions of Medicare Code Edits — v43.1 (April 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 — v43 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 structured 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 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.

Labels on this page: Official source data · MedCoder structured relationship · MedCoder explanation. How to read the labels · All data sources and release dates

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. "K68.11 — Postprocedural retroperitoneal abscess." ICD-10-CM FY2026. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/k68.11-postprocedural-retroperitoneal-abscess

Change history

  • FY2016 — October 1, 2015
    In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption
    Postprocedural retroperitoneal abscess

No changes since FY2016 — additions, deletions, description changes and billable-status changes are tracked through FY2027 (effective October 1, 2026), and none are recorded for this code. Note changes are tracked from FY2027 only.

Nearest Codes in This Family

Official ICD-10-CM classifications closest to K68.11 in its code family, with their registry titles.

View all codes in the K68 family