2026 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code Q15.9Congenital malformation of eye, unspecified

ICD-10-CM Codes›Q00-Q99›Q10-Q18›Q15

ICD-10-CM Q15.9
CMSSource: CMS FY 2026 ICD-10-CM dataset · Effective Oct 1, 2025 – Sep 30, 2026

Q15.9 is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for congenital malformation of eye, unspecified. It is valid on HIPAA claims for fiscal year 2026 (October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026) and groups to MS-DRG 124 through 125. The code is exempt from POA reporting. In AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software (CCSR), this diagnosis falls under Congenital malformations of eye, ear, face, neck.

Code Identity

ICD-10-CM Code
Q15.9
Billable Status
Yes — Valid for Submission
Code Describes
Congenital malformation of eye, unspecified
Short Description
Congenital malformation of eye, unspecified
Same as the full description in the CMS dataset.
Parent Code
Q15
Other congenital malformations of eye

Code Classification

ChapterQ00-Q99Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities
SectionQ10-Q18Congenital malformations of eye, ear, face and neck
CategoryQ15Other congenital malformations of eye
This CodeQ15.9Congenital malformation of eye, unspecified

Present on Admission (POA)Billing

Q15.9 is exempt from POA reporting on inpatient claims to general acute care hospitals. Review other POA exempt codes.

Approximate SynonymsGuidance

Alternate terms and clinical phrases that map to this code.

  • Acrorenoocular syndrome
  • Alopecia, nail dystrophy, ophthalmic complications, thyroid dysfunction, hypohidrosis, ephelides, enteropathy and respiratory tract infections
  • Aplasia cutis congenita secondary to malformation syndrome
  • Auricular abnormality, cleft lip, ocular abnormality syndrome
  • Axonal neuropathy
  • Bilateral hearing loss
  • Choanal atresia
  • Chronic diarrhea of infants AND/OR young children
  • CODAS syndrome
  • Combined malformation of central nervous system and skeletal muscle
  • Conductive hearing loss of left ear
  • Conductive hearing loss of right ear
  • Conductive hearing loss, bilateral
  • Congenital anomaly of eye
  • Congenital anomaly of ocular adnexa
  • Congenital hypotrichia
  • Congenital malformation of eye, ear and neck
  • Congenital mixed conductive and sensorineural hearing loss
  • Dysplasia with defective mineralization
  • Familial aplasia of the vermis
  • Feingold syndrome
  • Frontonasal dysplasia sequence
  • Glaucoma due to congenital anomaly of eye
  • Global developmental delay, neuro-ophthalmological abnormalities, seizures, intellectual disability syndrome
  • Hereditary cerebellar atrophy
  • Infantile hemangioma
  • Infantile hypotonia, oculomotor anomalies, hyperkinetic movements, developmental delay syndrome
  • Intellectual disability, obesity, prognathism, eye and skin anomalies syndrome
  • Intellectual disability, seizures, hypotonia, ophthalmologic, skeletal anomalies syndrome
  • Intractable diarrhea with choanal atresia and eye anomaly syndrome
  • Joubert syndrome
  • Joubert syndrome with oculorenal defect
  • Linear hypopigmentation and craniofacial asymmetry with acral, ocular and brain anomalies
  • Manitoba oculotrichoanal syndrome
  • Matthew Wood syndrome
  • Microcephaly, facial dysmorphism, ocular anomalies, multiple congenital anomalies syndrome
  • Mixed conductive AND sensorineural hearing loss
  • Mixed conductive and sensorineural hearing loss of left ear
  • Mixed conductive and sensorineural hearing loss of right ear
  • Mixed conductive and sensorineural hearing loss, bilateral
  • MOMO syndrome
  • Muscle eye brain disease with bilateral multicystic leukodystrophy
  • Nephronophthisis
  • Neurodevelopmental delay, seizures, ophthalmic anomalies, osteopenia, cerebellar atrophy syndrome
  • Ocular anomalies, axonal neuropathy, developmental delay syndrome
  • Oculoauricular syndrome Schorderet type
  • Oculoauriculofrontonasal syndrome
  • Oculocerebrocutaneous syndrome
  • Oculocerebrodental syndrome
  • Oculogastrointestinal neurodevelopmental syndrome
  • Oculootoradial syndrome
  • Oculopalatocerebral syndrome
  • Ophthalmo-acromelic syndrome
  • Persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous
  • PHACE syndrome
  • Pierson syndrome
  • RAB18 deficiency
  • Sensorineural hearing loss of bilateral ears
  • Steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome
  • Upper limb defect with eye and ear abnormalities syndrome

Tabular List NotesGuidance

Coding notes and annotation back-references applicable to this code.

Inclusion Terms

  • Congenital anomaly of eye
  • Congenital deformity of eye

Index to Diseases and InjuriesGuidance

Alphabetical index entries that point to this code.

External Cause of Injuries IndexGuidance

References for this code in the External Cause of Injuries Index.

    • Anomaly, anomalous(congenital) (unspecified type)
      • eye
    • Deformity
      • eye, congenital
    • Malformation(congenital)
      • eye

Clinical ClassificationClinical

AHRQ’s CCSR groups this code into broader clinical categories.

CCSR MAL005
Congenital malformations of eye, ear, face, neck
Default principal diagnosis: inpatient Yes · outpatient Yes

Clinical InformationClinical

  • Choanal Atresia

    a congenital abnormality that is characterized by a blocked choanae, the opening between the nose and the nasopharynx. blockage can be unilateral or bilateral; bony or membranous.

  • Persistent Hyperplastic Primary Vitreous

    a developmental ocular anomaly in which the primary vitreous body and its surrounding hyaloid vasculature failed to regress. it is usually unilateral and characterized by cataract; microphthalmos (small eyeballs), and retrolenticular fibrovascular tissue. (from yanoff: ophthalmology, 2nd ed.)

  • Nephrocystin-1|Juvenile Nephronophthisis 1 Protein|NPHP1

    nephrocystin-1 (732 aa, ~83 kda) is encoded by the human nphp1 gene. this protein is involved in the modulation of signaling.

  • Nephronophthisis

    progressive tubulointerstitial injury, inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern, caused by mutations in genes involved in ciliary function, which may result in an end stage renal failure.

  • Nephronophthisis 1|Familial Juvenile Nephronophthisis|Juvenile Nephronophthisis|NPH1

    progressive tubulointerstitial nephritis inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. it is caused by mutations in the nphp1 gene. patients present with anemia, polyuria, and polydipsia during childhood. the progressive bilateral kidney damage results in renal failure.

  • NPHP1 Gene|NPHP1|NPHP1|Nephronophthisis 1 (Juvenile) Gene

    this gene is involved in the mediation of signal transduction.

  • NPHP1 wt Allele|FLJ97602|JBTS4|NPH1|Nephronophthisis 1 (Juvenile) wt Allele|SLSN1

    human nphp1 wild-type allele is located in the vicinity of 2q13 and is approximately 83 kb in length. this allele, which encodes nephrocystin-1 protein, plays a role in the progression of adhesion-dependent signaling pathways. mutations in the gene are associated with familial juvenile nephronophthisis type 1, senior-loken syndrome type 1, and joubert syndrome type 4.

  • Acute Motor and Sensory Axonal Neuropathy|Acute Motor And Sensory Axonal Neuropathy|Acute Motor-Sensory Axonal Neuropathy|Acute Motor-Sensory Axonal Neuropathy

    a subtype of guillain-barre syndrome that targets sensory motor axons, and is characterized by acute onset of quadriparesis, distal sensory loss, areflexia, and respiratory insufficiency.

  • Acute Motor Axonal Neuropathy|AMAN

    a subtype of guillain-barre syndrome that targets motor axons, and is characterized by symmetric limb weakness, diffuse areflexia, facial and oropharyngeal muscle weakness, and respiratory insufficiency.

  • Axonal Neuropathy

    any nerve disorder affecting the axon of a nerve.

  • GAN wt Allele|GAN1|Giant Axonal Neuropathy (Gigaxonin) Gene|Gigaxonin wt Allele|KLHL16

    human gan wild-type allele is located in the vicinity of 16q24.1 and is approximately 65 kb in length. this allele, which encodes gigaxonin protein, is involved in both ubiquitination and neurofilament structure. mutation of the gene is associated with giant axonal neuropathy.

  • Giant Axonal Neuropathy

    a rare inherited disorder affecting the neurofilaments. it is caused by mutations in the gan gene. it is characterized by the presence of abnormally large nerve cell axons. signs and symptoms include difficulty walking, sensory disturbances, lack of motor coordination and abnormal reflexes in the limbs.

  • Spinocerebellar Ataxia, Autosomal Recessive, with Axonal Neuropathy 2|AOA2|Ataxia with Oculomotor Apraxia Type 2|SCAN2

    an autosomal recessive condition caused by mutation(s) in the setx gene, encoding probable helicase senataxin. it is characterized by juvenile onset progressive cerebellar ataxia, axonal sensorimotor peripheral neuropathy, and increased concentrations of serum alpha-fetoprotein. oculomotor apraxia is common, but is not always present.

  • Feingold Syndrome

    a rare autosomal dominant syndrome caused by mutations in the mycn oncogene. it is characterized by microcephaly, limb abnormalities, esophageal and/or duodenal atresia.

  • Joubert Syndrome

    a rare genetic syndrome characterized by the hypoplasia or absence of the cerebellar vermis. signs and symptoms include rapid breathing (hyperpnea), sleep apnea, abnormal eye movements, mental retardation, and ataxia.

  • Joubert Syndrome 17|JBTS17

    an autosomal recessive subtype of joubert syndrome caused by mutation(s) in the cplane1 gene, encoding ciliogenesis and planar polarity effector 1.

  • Joubert Syndrome 3|JBTS3

    an autosomal recessive subtype of joubert syndrome caused by mutation(s) in the ahi1 gene, encoding jouberin.

  • Joubert Syndrome 4

    a rare genetic syndrome caused by mutations in the nphp1 gene. it is characterized by the hypoplasia or absence of the cerebellar vermis. signs and symptoms include rapid breathing (hyperpnea), sleep apnea, abnormal eye movements, mental retardation, and ataxia.

  • Joubert Syndrome 7|JBTS7

    an autosomal recessive sub-type of joubert syndrome caused by mutation(s) in the rpgrip1l gene, encoding a protein thought to function in programmed cell death. it is characterized by cerebellar and oculomotor apraxia, hypotonia and psychomotor delay, neonatal respiratory abnormalities, renal abnormalities, and retinal dystrophy.

  • Joubert Syndrome 9|JBTS9

    an autosomal recessive subtype of joubert syndrome caused by mutation(s) in the cc2d2a gene, encoding coiled-coil and c2 domain-containing protein 2a.

  • Codas Syndrome

    a rare syndrome caused by mutations in the lonp1 gene. it is characterized by developmental delay, cerebral, ocular, dental, auricular, and skeletal abnormalities.

  • Pierson Syndrome

    an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutation(s) in the lamb2 gene, encoding laminin subunit beta-2. it is characterized by congenital nephrotic syndrome with diffuse mesangial sclerosis and distinct ocular abnormalities.

Patient EducationClinical

Birth Defects

A birth defect is a problem that happens while a baby is developing in the mother's body. Most birth defects happen during the first 3 months of pregnancy. One out of every 33 babies in the United States is born with a birth defect.

The full article covers:

  • What are birth defects?
  • What causes birth defects?
  • Who is at risk of having a baby with birth defects?
  • How are birth defects diagnosed?
  • What are the treatments for birth defects?
  • Can birth defects be prevented?

Read the full article at MedlinePlus

Courtesy of MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Convert Q15.9 to ICD-9-CMHistory

The closest ICD-9-CM equivalents under the General Equivalence Mappings.

ICD-9-CM
743.9 Eye anomaly NOS
Exact Match The mapping is direct, with no qualifiers.

Code HistoryHistory

FY 2016AddedAdded to the ICD-10-CM code setEffective October 1, 2015, the first year of ICD-10-CM.
FY 2017–2025No changes
FY 2026CurrentCurrent code set, no changesEffective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026.

Questions About Q15.9Overview

Is Q15.9 (Other congenital malformations of eye) a billable code?

Yes. This is a billable ICD-10-CM code, specific enough to report congenital malformation of eye, unspecified on HIPAA-covered claims from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026.

What MS-DRG does Q15.9 group to?

When congenital malformation of eye, unspecified is the principal diagnosis on an inpatient stay, it groups to MS-DRG 124, 125, with relative weights from 0.7678 to 1.3231 depending on complications. Higher weights mean higher Medicare reimbursement.

Is Q15.9 exempt from POA reporting?

Yes. CMS lists this code among those exempt from present on admission reporting, so hospitals do not assign a POA indicator for congenital malformation of eye, unspecified on inpatient claims.

What is the ICD-9 equivalent of Q15.9?

Under the General Equivalence Mappings, congenital malformation of eye, unspecified converts to ICD-9-CM 743.9 (eye anomaly NOS). The mapping is a direct match.

Footnotes

[1] Chronic - a chronic condition code indicates a condition lasting 12 months or longer and its effect on the patient based on one or both of the following criteria:

  • The condition results in the need for ongoing intervention with medical products,treatment, services, and special equipment
  • The condition places limitations on self-care, independent living, and social interactions.