New codes proposed for surgical wounds left open after a procedure continue to navigate their way toward finalization, with adjustments pitched during the ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee meeting held virtually March 17 and 18.  
 
It was one of 35 proposals reviewed over the two days.  
 
In certain circumstances, the surgical wound is temporarily left open at the end of a procedure, presenters noted. This is a clinically significant concept, but there is currently no way to account for it in ICD-10 coding.  
 
These patients in home health require significant resources, experts note. Having a diagnosis to track what’s required in treatment may help with future efforts to recoup some of the resources agencies utilize.  
 
Code additions for open wounds were previously discussed during the September 2025 committee meeting. The changes detailed March 17 focus on adding “intentionally” to the coding descriptions.  
 
If finalized as proposed, this would introduce the sub-subcategory Z98.88 (Postprocedural intentionally open surgical wound), with the following proposed codes:  
 
Z98.880 (Postprocedural intentionally open abdomen) 
  • With inclusion terms: “delayed abdominal closure,” “intentional delayed closure of abdominal surgical wound,” “open abdomen” and “postprocedural temporary open abdomen” 
Z98.881 (Postprocedural intentionally open chest) 
  • With inclusion terms: “delayed chest closure,” “intentional delayed closure of chest surgical wound,” “open chest” and “postprocedural temporary open chest” 
Z98.888 (Other postprocedural intentionally open surgical wound) 
  • With inclusion terms: “other delayed surgical wound closure,” “other intentional delayed closure of surgical wound” and “other postprocedural temporary open surgical wound” 
Z98.889 (Postprocedural intentionally open surgical wound, unspecified) 
  • With inclusion term: “intentional delayed surgical wound closure NOS” 
Other changes proposed during the two-day meeting include:  
  • T50.B25 (Adverse effect of COVID-19 vaccines): Would address adverse effects of COVID vaccines to better identify, track and study these cases.   
  • E78.A (Hypertriglyceridemia level): Codes under this new subcategory would note the level as mid to moderate, severe and other. 
  • E88.83 (Lipedema): Various code changes proposed around lipedema, including staging and lipolymphedema.  
  • K70.9 (Other alcoholic liver disease): For metabolic dysfunction- and alcohol-associated liver disease (MetALD), this category would recognize that liver steatosis can result from both metabolic factors and alcohol consumption. 
  • I45.61 (Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome): Meant to help flag patients who are at a unique risk of worsening symptoms due to common drugs used to control heart rate. 
  • T88.81 (Post-intensive care syndrome): Identifies new or worsening cognitive, mental health or physical impairments that arise after critical illness and persist for at least three months following acute care hospitalization. 
 
Editor's note: For a full story on the meeting, see the May issue of Diagnosis Coding Pro for Home Health. To view all of the March proposals, visit https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/icd/topic-packet-March-2026.pdf.