O70.3 — Fourth degree perineal laceration during delivery

BillableCC

Is O70.3 billable?

Yes — O70.3 is billable for FY2027. O70.3 is a valid, billable ICD-10-CM code at the highest level of specificity in its branch. O70.3 may be submitted for encounters from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.

O70.3 at a glance

Code	O70.3
Description	Fourth degree perineal laceration during delivery
Billable	Yes
Code set	ICD-10-CM FY2027
Valid for encounters	October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027

Which MS-DRGs does O70.3 group to?

O70.3 sits in MDC 14 and helps define the logic of 1 MS-DRG (version 44, FY2027). Which one a stay actually groups to also depends on procedures and secondary diagnoses.

769Postpartum and Post Abortion Diagnoses with O.R. Proceduressurgical

As a secondary diagnosis, O70.3 is a complication or comorbidity (CC), which can move a stay into a higher-paying DRG.

How is O70.3 listed in the Alphabetic Index?

These are the routes through the Alphabetic Index that lead to O70.3. They show the wording a clinician may have documented, which often differs from the Tabular description.

Laceration › perineum › female › during delivery › fourth degree
Tear, torn › anus, anal › complicating delivery › with third degree perineal laceration › with mucosa (traumatic)
Delivery › complicated › by › laceration › perineum, perineal › fourth degree (childbirth) (labor)
Delivery › complicated › by › laceration › anus › with third degree laceration › with mucosa (childbirth) (labor)
Delivery › complicated › by › laceration › rectovaginal › with perineum › with anal or rectal mucosa (childbirth) (labor)

Inclusion terms

Alternative wording in documentation that is classified to O70.3.

Perineal laceration, rupture or tear during delivery as in O70.2, also involving anal mucosa
Perineal laceration, rupture or tear during delivery as in O70.2, also involving rectal mucosa

Excludes1 — never code together — inherited from Chapter 15

The conditions below can never be reported together with O70.3 on the same claim. An Excludes1 note means the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient, so reporting both is a coding error.

supervision of normal pregnancy (Z34.-)

Excludes1 — never code together — inherited from O70

The conditions below can never be reported together with O70.3 on the same claim. An Excludes1 note means the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient, so reporting both is a coding error.

obstetric high vaginal laceration alone (O71.4)

Use additional code — inherited from Chapter 15

Report an additional code alongside O70.3 to fully describe the condition. O70.3 is sequenced first.

code, if applicable, from category Z3A, Weeks of gestation, to identify the specific week of the pregnancy, if known.

Excludes2 — not included here — inherited from Chapter 15

The conditions below are not part of O70.3, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, O70.3 and the excluded code may both be reported.

mental and behavioral disorders associated with the puerperium (F53.-)
obstetrical tetanus (A34)
postpartum necrosis of pituitary gland (E23.0)
puerperal osteomalacia (M83.0)

How long has O70.3 existed?

O70.3 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 codes are confused with O70.3?

ICD-10-CM declares these codes mutually exclusive with O70.3 — exactly one of each pair can be correct for a given encounter.

vs O70.2Third degree perineal laceration during delivery