Z42
Encounter for plastic and reconstructive surgery following medical procedure or healed injury
Z42 is a non-billable ICD-10-CM code category for encounter for plastic and reconstructive surgery following medical procedure or healed injury. Report a more specific code from it instead. It is part of the FY2027 code set, effective October 1, 2026. The more specific codes under it are Z42.1 Encounter for breast reconstruction following mastectomy and Z42.8 Encounter for other plastic and reconstructive surgery following medical procedure or healed injury. Its coding notes include 2 Excludes1 entries and 1 Excludes2 entry.
Guidelines tip
From the FY2027 Official Guidelines. ICD10Ref adds no rules of its own.
Aftercare Z codes are not used when treatment is directed at a current, acute disease, or for aftercare of an injury. For an injury, the acute injury code with a 7th character for a subsequent encounter is used.
Excludes1
Not coded here. The listed conditions generally should not be reported together.
- encounter for cosmetic plastic surgery (Z41.1)
- encounter for plastic surgery for treatment of current injury - code to relevent injury
Excludes2
Not included here. Both codes may be reported if the patient has both conditions.
Also from chapter/block level (1 note)
- follow-up examination for medical surveillance after treatment (Z08-Z09)
Notes
Also from chapter/block level (3 notes)
- Z codes represent reasons for encounters. A corresponding procedure code must accompany a Z code if a procedure is performed. Categories Z00-Z99 are provided for occasions when circumstances other than a disease, injury or external cause classifiable to categories A00-Y89 are recorded as 'diagnoses' or 'problems'. This can arise in two main ways:
- (a) When a person who may or may not be sick encounters the health services for some specific purpose, such as to receive limited care or service for a current condition, to donate an organ or tissue, to receive prophylactic vaccination (immunization), or to discuss a problem which is in itself not a disease or injury.
- (b) When some circumstance or problem is present which influences the person's health status but is not in itself a current illness or injury.