D21.0CurrentBillable / specific

Benign neoplasm of connective and other soft tissue of head, face and neck

Code-level instructions

Excludes 1

benign neoplasm of connective tissue of orbit (D31.6-)

D21 · Inherited instructions

Excludes 1

benign neoplasm of articular cartilage (D16.-)
benign neoplasm of cartilage of larynx (D14.1)
benign neoplasm of cartilage of nose (D14.0)
benign neoplasm of connective tissue of breast (D24.-)
benign neoplasm of peripheral nerves and autonomic nervous system (D36.1-)
benign neoplasm of peritoneum (D20.1)
benign neoplasm of retroperitoneum (D20.0)
benign neoplasm of uterine ligament, any (D28.2)
benign neoplasm of vascular tissue (D18.-)
hemangioma (D18.0-)
lipomatous neoplasm (D17.-)
lymphangioma (D18.1)
uterine leiomyoma (D25.-)

Claims & coverage

Coverage depends on the payer, service and applicable policy. A billable code does not guarantee payment.

When ICD-10-CM is required

For US diagnosis claims covered by HIPAA, ICD-10-CM is required from October 1, 2015.

Use the service date for outpatient/professional claims and the discharge date for hospital inpatient claims. Earlier encounters use ICD-9-CM; each individual code must also be valid for the applicable date.

Official coding guidelines → · CMS ↗

MS-DRG · 43.1 · 564, 565, 566

Grouping depends on the complete encounter and CMS grouper logic.

564 · Other Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue Diagnoses with MCC
565 · Other Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue Diagnoses with CC
566 · Other Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue Diagnoses without CC/MCC

2026-04-01 – 2026-09-30

CMS · MS-DRG 43.1

Check Medicare coverage ↗

First observed · 2015-10-01

Code history

No recorded change since first observation

ChangedUnchanged

FY2016

Effective from 2015-10-01

First observed

Benign neoplasm of connective and other soft tissue of head, face and neck

Billable diagnosis code

CDC/NCHS · FY2016

All editions (19)

All editions	Effective from	Code history
FY2016	2015-10-01	First observed
FY2017	2016-10-01	No tabular change
FY2018	2017-10-01	No tabular change
FY2019	2018-10-01	No tabular change
FY2020	2019-10-01	No tabular change
FY2020 · April	2020-04-01	No tabular change
FY2021	2020-10-01	No tabular change
FY2021 · 01-01	2021-01-01	No tabular change
FY2022	2021-10-01	No tabular change
FY2022 · 04-01	2022-04-01	No tabular change
FY2023	2022-10-01	No tabular change
FY2023 · 04-01	2023-04-01	No tabular change
FY2024	2023-10-01	No tabular change
FY2024 · 04-01	2024-04-01	No tabular change
FY2025	2024-10-01	No tabular change
FY2025 · 04-01	2025-04-01	No tabular change
FY2026	2025-10-01	No tabular change
FY2026 · April	2026-04-01	No tabular change
FY2027	2026-10-01	No tabular change

Historical ICD-9 mappings · 2018

Historical mapping only; not an automatic code substitution.

215.0

CDC/NCHS · GEM 2018

Code-level instructions

Includes

Benign neoplasm of connective tissue of ear
Benign neoplasm of connective tissue of eyelid

Excludes 1

benign neoplasm of connective tissue of orbit (D31.6-)

Inherited instructions

Chapters 2 · Neoplasms (C00-D49)

Note

Functional activity
All neoplasms are classified in this chapter, whether they are functionally active or not. An additional code from Chapter 4 may be used, to identify functional activity associated with any neoplasm.
Morphology [Histology]
Chapter 2 classifies neoplasms primarily by site (topography), with broad groupings for behavior, malignant, in situ, benign, etc. The Table of Neoplasms should be used to identify the correct topography code. In a few cases, such as for malignant melanoma and certain neuroendocrine tumors, the morphology (histologic type) is included in the category and codes.
Primary malignant neoplasms overlapping site boundaries
A primary malignant neoplasm that overlaps two or more contiguous (next to each other) sites should be classified to the subcategory/code .8 ('overlapping lesion'), unless the combination is specifically indexed elsewhere. For multiple neoplasms of the same site that are not contiguous, such as tumors in different quadrants of the same breast, codes for each site should be assigned.
Malignant neoplasm of ectopic tissue
Malignant neoplasms of ectopic tissue are to be coded to the site mentioned, e.g., ectopic pancreatic malignant neoplasms are coded to pancreas, unspecified (C25.9).

D21 · Other benign neoplasms of connective and other soft tissue

Includes

benign neoplasm of blood vessel
benign neoplasm of bursa
benign neoplasm of cartilage
benign neoplasm of fascia
benign neoplasm of fat
benign neoplasm of ligament, except uterine
benign neoplasm of lymphatic channel
benign neoplasm of muscle
benign neoplasm of synovia
benign neoplasm of tendon (sheath)
benign stromal tumors

Excludes 1

benign neoplasm of articular cartilage (D16.-)
benign neoplasm of cartilage of larynx (D14.1)
benign neoplasm of cartilage of nose (D14.0)
benign neoplasm of connective tissue of breast (D24.-)
benign neoplasm of peripheral nerves and autonomic nervous system (D36.1-)
benign neoplasm of peritoneum (D20.1)
benign neoplasm of retroperitoneum (D20.0)
benign neoplasm of uterine ligament, any (D28.2)
benign neoplasm of vascular tissue (D18.-)
hemangioma (D18.0-)
lipomatous neoplasm (D17.-)
lymphangioma (D18.1)
uterine leiomyoma (D25.-)

Official index references (25)

Neoplasm, neoplastic (25)

Related codes

Other entries in the same category; these are not automatic substitutes.

Code	Description	Category · further specificity required
D21.1	Benign neoplasm of connective and other soft tissue of upper limb, including shoulder	Category · further specificity required
D21.2	Benign neoplasm of connective and other soft tissue of lower limb, including hip	Category · further specificity required
D21.3	Benign neoplasm of connective and other soft tissue of thorax	Billable / specific
D21.4	Benign neoplasm of connective and other soft tissue of abdomen	Billable / specific
D21.5	Benign neoplasm of connective and other soft tissue of pelvis	Billable / specific
D21.6	Benign neoplasm of connective and other soft tissue of trunk, unspecified	Billable / specific
D21.9	Benign neoplasm of connective and other soft tissue, unspecified	Billable / specific

Official titles and instructions are preserved in their source language. Official sources ↗