ICDcodes.org
FY2027

K43.6 — Other and unspecified ventral hernia with obstruction, without gangrene

BillableUnspecifiedCC

Is K43.6 billable?

Yes, but K43.6 is an unspecified code. K43.6 is a valid, billable ICD-10-CM code for encounters from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. However, K43.6 is an unspecified or catch-all code. Payers apply additional scrutiny to unspecified codes and many deny them when the medical record supports a more specific option, so check the documentation before selecting K43.6 — the more specific alternatives are listed below.

K43.6 at a glance

CodeK43.6
DescriptionOther and unspecified ventral hernia with obstruction, without gangrene
BillableYes
Code setICD-10-CM FY2027
Valid for encountersOctober 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027

Which MS-DRGs does K43.6 group to?

K43.6 sits in MDC 06 and helps define the logic of 3 MS-DRGs (version 44, FY2027). Which one a stay actually groups to also depends on procedures and secondary diagnoses.

  • 393Other Digestive System Diagnoses with MCCmedical
  • 394Other Digestive System Diagnoses with CCmedical
  • 395Other Digestive System Diagnoses without CC/MCCmedical

As a secondary diagnosis, K43.6 is a complication or comorbidity (CC), which can move a stay into a higher-paying DRG.

How is K43.6 listed in the Alphabetic Index?

These are the routes through the Alphabetic Index that lead to K43.6. They show the wording a clinician may have documented, which often differs from the Tabular description.

  • Hernia, hernial › ventral › with › obstruction (acquired) (recurrent)
  • Hernia, hernial › ventral › specified NEC › with › obstruction (acquired) (recurrent)

Inclusion terms

Alternative wording in documentation that is classified to K43.6.

  • Epigastric hernia causing obstruction, without gangrene
  • Hypogastric hernia causing obstruction, without gangrene
  • Incarcerated epigastric hernia without gangrene
  • Incarcerated hypogastric hernia without gangrene
  • Incarcerated midline hernia without gangrene
  • Incarcerated spigelian hernia without gangrene
  • Incarcerated subxiphoid hernia without gangrene
  • Irreducible epigastric hernia without gangrene
  • Irreducible hypogastric hernia without gangrene
  • Irreducible midline hernia without gangrene
  • Irreducible spigelian hernia without gangrene
  • Irreducible subxiphoid hernia without gangrene
  • Midline hernia causing obstruction, without gangrene
  • Spigelian hernia causing obstruction, without gangrene
  • Strangulated epigastric hernia without gangrene
  • Strangulated hypogastric hernia without gangrene
  • Strangulated midline hernia without gangrene
  • Strangulated spigelian hernia without gangrene
  • Strangulated subxiphoid hernia without gangrene
  • Subxiphoid hernia causing obstruction, without gangrene

Excludes2 — not included here — inherited from Chapter 11

The conditions below are not part of K43.6, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, K43.6 and the excluded code may both be reported.

  • certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P04-P96)
  • certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)
  • complications of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O9A)
  • congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)
  • endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E88)
  • injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88)
  • neoplasms (C00-D49)
  • symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R94)

How long has K43.6 existed?

K43.6 has been in ICD-10-CM since at least FY2016, the earliest fiscal year on record here.

Derived from the official order files for FY2016–FY2026. FY2017 and FY2020 publish no order file, so those years are not covered.

Which conditions are coded to K43.6?

What other codes are in the K43 family? (8)