Plastic Surgery Coder’s Anatomy: The Face

We’ve got the pictures and definitions that help you face those op reports.

If want to be a plastic surgery coder, you will see diagnosis and procedure codes related to the following structures of the face:

Muscles

Masseter—Muscle of the posterior cheek that closes the jaw.

Mentalis—Facial muscle of the chin.

Nasalis—This compound muscle of the nose dilates the nostrils.

Orbicularis oculi—Comprised of three parts, the orbital, palpebral and lacrimal, this muscle controls closing the eye.

Orbicularis oris—This muscle of the mouth closes the lips.

Temporalis—The muscle that closes the jaw.

Zygomatous major and minor—These muscles of the anterior cheek control the movement of the upper lip.

Bones, Ligaments and Joints:

Mandible—Also called the lower jawbone, the mandible is ìUî shaped in superior view. It is often labeled in four parts: the ramus, which attaches to the temporomandibular joint, the angle (ìsquare jawî) and the body, which leads to the mental protuberance (chin).

Maxilla—This is the upper jaw, which is fused to the cranium to form the hard palate, the nasal cavity, and the orbits.

Nasal bone—This bone forms the bridge of the nose.

Orbit—Commonly called the eye socket, this is the round cavity where the eyeball sits. Seven bones form the orbit: ethmoid, frontal, lacrimal, maxillary, palatine, sphenoid and zygomatic.

Palate—Also called the roof of the mouth, this is the bony/muscular partition between the nasal and oral cavities. The palate normally fuses from two plates of the skull during fetal development, but can result in a congenital deformity known as a cleft palate when it does not.

Palpebral ligament—This ligament is in the upper eyelid

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ)—The TMJ allows you to open and close your mouth. Located in front of the ear, this joint with the skull allows the lower jaw (mandible) to move. The TMJ is a hinge and gliding joint that is susceptible to a host of problems because it is in constant use. The rounded end of the mandible that forms part of the joint is called the condyle. The socket in the skull that the condyle fits into is called the articular fossa. A cartilage disk between the condyle and articular fossa acts as a cushion and allows smooth movement in the joint.

Vomer—The vomer is another bone in the nose that helps to form the septum from underneath

AUDIO: 12 Must-Know Coding Tips for Lesion Removal Reimbursement. With John F. Bishop.

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