K91 ICD-10-CM Code: Intraoperative and postprocedural complications and disorders of digestive system, not elsewhere classified
Billing Status: NO. This is a clinician non-billable / parent hierarchy grouping in the ICD-10-CM system.
Coding at a Glance
- Tabular directives
- 7 Excludes2
Coding instructions
Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for K91 in the official ICD-10-CM tabular list, quoted as published.
Excludes2 — Not Included Here
Conditions not covered by this code, but which may be reported alongside it when both are present.
- complications of artificial opening of digestive system (K94.-) Compare K91 vs K94 →
- complications of bariatric procedures (K95.-) Compare K91 vs K95 →
- gastrojejunal ulcer (K28.-) Compare K91 vs K28 →
- postprocedural (radiation) retroperitoneal abscess (K68.11) Compare K91 vs K68.11 →
- radiation colitis (K52.0) Compare K91 vs K52.0 →
- radiation gastroenteritis (K52.0) Compare K91 vs K52.0 →
- radiation proctitis (K62.7) Compare K91 vs K62.7 →
Coder workflow for K91
MedCoder structured workflow — derived from this code’s own official record
Before you code K91
- K91 is not reportable as written. Select the more specific code beneath it that the documentation supports. Codes are reported to the highest level of specificity the classification provides (Guidelines I.B.2).
ReviewK91.0, K91.1, K91.2, K91.3, K91.5, K91.6, K91.7, K91.8
See the relationships section · Guide: How to choose an ICD-10-CM code →
- “Other” (NEC) means the condition is specified in the record but no dedicated code captures it. Confirm the documented form is not one a sibling code names before settling on K91; if the record states no specifics at all, the unspecified sibling applies instead. “Other” codes are for documented conditions the classification gives no specific code; “unspecified” codes are for records lacking the detail (Guidelines I.A.9.a, I.A.9.b).
See the relationships section · Guide: Other vs unspecified (NEC vs NOS) →
Choose the right path
- Does the documentation support one of the more specific codes beneath K91?
Yes → Select that code and continue the checks below on its own page.
No → K91 cannot be reported as written; query for the specificity its subcategory needs.ReviewK91.0, K91.1, K91.2, K91.3, K91.5, K91.6, K91.7, K91.8
Consider K91. Then confirm the code is valid for the date of service in the Verify section.
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).
- Any detail beyond this code’s title
- What the record states that a more specific sibling code would capture — or its absence, which itself supports the unspecified code.
Official instructions as workflow
Excludes2 — not part of K91(7 notes)
Coding workflow: The conditions named in this note are not included in K91. When the record documents both, both may be reported; the note is a boundary, not a prohibition.
CompareK94, K95, K28, K68.11, K52.0, K62.7
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
MedCoder summary Summary composed by MedCoder from this code's official ICD-10-CM record. The tabular instructional notes themselves appear verbatim below.
Verify Before Coding
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 K91 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 1 Excludes2 note: T81 — Complications of procedures, not elsewhere classified.
These codes’ tabular lists name this diagnosis as distinct — both may be reported when both are documented.
Contextual Map
Every relationship of K91 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 K91 with these 7 related codes in Claim Check
Hierarchy
- K00-K95 — Chapter 11: Diseases of the Digestive System (K00-K95) (K00-K95)[Hierarchy]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- K90-K95 — Other diseases of the digestive system[Hierarchy]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
Excludes2
- K28 — Gastrojejunal ulcer[Excludes2]: “gastrojejunal ulcer (K28.-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
- K52.0 — Gastroenteritis and colitis due to radiation[Excludes2]: “radiation colitis (K52.0)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
- K62.7 — Radiation proctitis[Excludes2]: “radiation proctitis (K62.7)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
- K68.11 — Postprocedural retroperitoneal abscess[Excludes2]: “postprocedural (radiation) retroperitoneal abscess (K68.11)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
- K94 — Complications of artificial openings of the digestive system[Excludes2]: “complications of artificial opening of digestive system (K94.-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
- K95 — Complications of bariatric procedures[Excludes2]: “complications of bariatric procedures (K95.-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
Referenced by Excludes2 notes
- T81 — Complications of procedures, not elsewhere classified[Excludes2]: “intraoperative and postprocedural complications of specific body system (D78.-, E36.-, E89.-, G97.3-, G97.4, H59.3-, H59.-, H95.2-, H95.3, I97.4-, I97.5, J95, K91.-, L76.-, M96.-, N99.-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
Nearest codes (31)
- K91.0 — Vomiting following gastrointestinal surgery[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- K91.1 — Postgastric surgery syndromes[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- K91.2 — Postsurgical malabsorption, not elsewhere classified[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- K91.3 — Postprocedural intestinal obstruction[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- K91.30 — Postprocedural intestinal obstruction, unspecified as to partial versus complete[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- K91.31 — Postprocedural partial intestinal obstruction[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- K91.32 — Postprocedural complete intestinal obstruction[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- K91.5 — Postcholecystectomy syndrome[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- and 23 more
Change history
- FY2016 — In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption [Change history]— CMS release files (code change ledger) · icd10cm-fy2016
Common coding questions
Can K91 be billed directly?
No. K91 (Intraoperative and postprocedural complications and disorders of digestive system, not elsewhere classified) is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code. A more specific billable subcode must be selected based on clinical documentation.
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
- Claim edits Official source data
- CMS Definitions of Medicare Code Edits — v43.1 (April 2026) 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
Change history
- FY2016 — October 1, 2015In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoptionIntraoperative and postprocedural complications and disorders of digestive system, not elsewhere classified
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 K91 in its code family, with their registry titles.
- K91.0 — Vomiting following gastrointestinal surgery
- K91.1 — Postgastric surgery syndromes
- K91.2 — Postsurgical malabsorption, not elsewhere classified
- K91.3 — Postprocedural intestinal obstruction
- K91.30 — Postprocedural intestinal obstruction, unspecified as to partial versus complete
- K91.31 — Postprocedural partial intestinal obstruction
- K91.32 — Postprocedural complete intestinal obstruction
- K91.5 — Postcholecystectomy syndrome
- K91.6 — Intraoperative hemorrhage and hematoma of a digestive system organ or structure complicating a procedure
- K91.61 — Intraoperative hemorrhage and hematoma of a digestive system organ or structure complicating a digestive system procedure
- K91.62 — Intraoperative hemorrhage and hematoma of a digestive system organ or structure complicating other procedure
- K91.7 — Accidental puncture and laceration of a digestive system organ or structure during a procedure
- K91.71 — Accidental puncture and laceration of a digestive system organ or structure during a digestive system procedure
- K91.72 — Accidental puncture and laceration of a digestive system organ or structure during other procedure
- K91.8 — Other intraoperative and postprocedural complications and disorders of digestive system
- K91.81 — Other intraoperative complications of digestive system
- K91.82 — Postprocedural hepatic failure
- K91.83 — Postprocedural hepatorenal syndrome
- K91.84 — Postprocedural hemorrhage of a digestive system organ or structure following a procedure
- K91.840 — Postprocedural hemorrhage of a digestive system organ or structure following a digestive system procedure
- K91.841 — Postprocedural hemorrhage of a digestive system organ or structure following other procedure
- K91.85 — Complications of intestinal pouch
- K91.850 — Pouchitis
- K91.858 — Other complications of intestinal pouch
- K91.86 — Retained cholelithiasis following cholecystectomy
- K91.87 — Postprocedural hematoma and seroma of a digestive system organ or structure following a procedure
- K91.870 — Postprocedural hematoma of a digestive system organ or structure following a digestive system procedure
- K91.871 — Postprocedural hematoma of a digestive system organ or structure following other procedure
- K91.872 — Postprocedural seroma of a digestive system organ or structure following a digestive system procedure
- K91.873 — Postprocedural seroma of a digestive system organ or structure following other procedure
- K91.89 — Other postprocedural complications and disorders of digestive system