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Q71.6 ICD-10-CM Code: Lobster-claw hand

Compare with another code for Q71.6Check this code on a claim

Billing Status: NO. This is a non-billable ICD-10-CM code: report a more specific billable code beneath it.

Not billable · FY2027A non-billable heading in the tabular list: report a more specific code beneath it.

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 17: Congenital Malformations, Deformations and Chromosomal Abnormalities (Q00-QA1) (Q00-QA1)Q65-Q79 Congenital malformations and deformations of the musculoskeletal systemQ71 Reduction defects of upper limb

Codes under Q71.6 (4)

  • Q71.60Lobster-claw hand, unspecified handBillable
  • Q71.61Lobster-claw right handBillable
  • Q71.62Lobster-claw left handBillable
  • Q71.63Lobster-claw hand, bilateralBillable

CompareCheck ClaimView Related Codes

Coder workflow for Q71.6

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

Before you code Q71.6

  1. Q71.6 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).

    ReviewQ71.60, Q71.61, Q71.62, Q71.63

    See the relationships section · Guide: How to choose an ICD-10-CM code →

Choose the right path

  1. Does the documentation support one of the more specific codes beneath Q71.6?
    Yes → Select that code and continue the checks below on its own page.
    No → Q71.6 cannot be reported as written. Where the codes beneath it include an unspecified code, that code applies when the record goes no further; otherwise query for the missing detail.

    ReviewQ71.60, Q71.61, Q71.62, Q71.63

Report the code beneath Q71.6 that the documentation supports, not Q71.6 itself. Then confirm that code is valid for the date of service on its own page.

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).

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.

Don’t confuse Q71.6 with…

MedCoder analysis — pairs from this code’s official notes, distinctions written by MedCoder

The codes most likely to be picked instead of Q71.6 — named in its own official notes, or sharing its laterality or encounter family — with what separates them and which documentation moves the case. Each links to the full comparison.

  • Q71.9— Specificity relationship (Review)

    Overlapping diagnoses in the same category.

    Overlapping codes in the same category — the documentation decides which is the more specific fit.

    What moves you there: A record that documents no more than “Unspecified reduction defect of upper limb” takes Q71.9; specificity in the record moves it back here.

    Full comparison: Q71.6 vs Q71.9 →

Relationships are read from this code's own official notes, its laterality siblings and its encounter family; the wording of each distinction is MedCoder editorial, and the documentation named in each “what moves you there” line is the official note phrase or sibling title itself. Source: CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes; ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a.

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

Lobster-claw hand is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (Q71.6). A more specific billable subcode must be selected for claims submission.

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-derived relationships — computed from published CMS and AHRQ datasets

Other codes that name Q71.6 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 5 Excludes1 notes across 3 chapters: M21 — Other acquired deformities of limbs (via Q71.-), M24.3 — Pathological dislocation of joint, not elsewhere classified (via Q71.-), Q68 — Other congenital musculoskeletal deformities (via Q71.-), Q74 — Other congenital malformations of limb(s) (via Q71.-), Z89 — Acquired absence of limb (via Q71.-).

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

Referenced by 1 Excludes2 note: M95 — Other acquired deformities of musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (via Q71.-).

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

Related Codes

Same Index main term, other category

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

Q37.8 — Unspecified cleft palate with bilateral cleft lip (lip, bilateral, with cleft palate), Q37.9 — Unspecified cleft palate with unilateral cleft lip (lip, with cleft palate), Q39.9 — Congenital malformation of esophagus, unspecified (esophagus, congenital), Q55.29 — Other congenital malformations of testis and scrotum (scrotum), Q55.69 — Other congenital malformation of penis (penis), Q62.2 — Congenital megaureter (obstructive, congenital, ureter, megaureter), Q62.31 — Congenital ureterocele, orthotopic (obstructive, congenital, ureter, orthotopic ureterocele), Q62.32 — Cecoureterocele (obstructive, congenital, ureter, cecoureterocele), Q62.39 — Other obstructive defects of renal pelvis and ureter (renal pelvis, obstructive), Q63.8 — Other specified congenital malformations of kidney (renal pelvis), Q72.4 — Longitudinal reduction defect of femur (reduction, limb, lower, longitudinal, femur), Q72.5 — Longitudinal reduction defect of tibia (reduction, limb, lower, longitudinal, tibia), Q72.6 — Longitudinal reduction defect of fibula (reduction, limb, lower, longitudinal, fibula), Q72.7 — Split foot (foot), Q72.89 — Other reduction defects of lower limb (reduction, limb, lower, specified type NEC), Q72.9 — Unspecified reduction defect of lower limb (reduction, limb, lower), Q73.8 — Other reduction defects of unspecified limb(s) (reduction, limb), Q79.0 — Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (diaphragm, congenital, gross), Q79.1 — Other congenital malformations of diaphragm (diaphragm, congenital), Q79.59 — Other congenital malformations of abdominal wall (abdominal wall, congenital), +123 more

Contextual Map

Every relationship of Q71.6 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 Q71.6 with these 6 related codes in Claim Check

Hierarchy

Referenced by Excludes1 notes

Referenced by Excludes2 notes

Index entries

  • Cleft (congenital), hand[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2027
  • Split, splitting, hand[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2027

Nearest codes (40)

Change history

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

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.

Common coding questions

MedCoder editorial

Can Q71.6 be billed directly?

No. Q71.6 (Lobster-claw hand) 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 FY2027 tabular list, index and tables, effective October 1, 2026 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
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. "Q71.6 — Lobster-claw hand." ICD-10-CM FY2027. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/q71.6-lobster-claw-hand

Change history

  • FY2016 — October 1, 2015
    In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption
    Lobster-claw hand

No changes since FY2016 — additions, deletions, description changes and billable-status changes are tracked through FY2027, 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 Q71.6 in its code family, with their registry titles.

View all codes in the Q71 family