ICD-10-PCS Code For Tongue Palate Pharynx Muscle: Procedure Code Group Overview

The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Procedure Coding System (ICD-10-PCS) code group 0K94 includes procedures performed to drain fluids and gases from muscles in the tongue, palate, and pharynx. These ICD-10-PCS codes are used for inpatient documentation when patients require removal of infectious, inflammatory, or other fluid collections from the muscles of the tongue, palate, or pharynx. Accurate coding within the ICD-10-PCS 0K94 group is essential for proper inpatient reimbursement, as it captures the procedure performed and supports clinical documentation accuracy.

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Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle Drainage Procedure Overview

Procedures in this group involve drainage of fluids or gases from muscles of the tongue, palate, and pharynx and target the muscular body system. These drainage procedures remove accumulations such as abscesses, hematomas, or other pathological collections to restore function and reduce infection risk. Accurate ICD-10-PCS coding of these muscle drainage procedures is important for proper inpatient documentation and reimbursement because it captures the clinical intervention performed and supports appropriate case mix assignment.

Code Attributes

Character	ICD-10-PCS Category	Code Group Details
0	Section	Medical and Surgical
K	Body System	Muscles
9	Operation	Drainage
4	Body Part	Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle

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ICD-10-PCS Code For Tongue Palate Pharynx Muscle: Procedure Code Group Overview

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Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle Drainage Procedure Overview

Code Attributes

Character	ICD-10-PCS Category	Code Group Details
0	Section	Medical and Surgical
K	Body System	Muscles
9	Operation	Drainage
4	Body Part	Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle

When to Use

Use a code from this group when an inpatient procedure is performed to evacuate fluid or gas collections from the tongue, palate, or pharyngeal muscles, such as for abscess drainage. Select the specific ICD-10-PCS code that matches the documented site and drainage approach to reflect the documented clinical intervention.

ICD-10-PCS Codes

9 rows

ICD-10-PCS Code	Description
0K9400Z	Drainage of Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle with Drainage Device, Open Approach
0K940ZX	Drainage of Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle, Open Approach, Diagnostic
0K940ZZ	Drainage of Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle, Open Approach
0K9430Z	Drainage of Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle with Drainage Device, Percutaneous Approach
0K943ZX	Drainage of Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle, Percutaneous Approach, Diagnostic
0K943ZZ	Drainage of Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle, Percutaneous Approach
0K9440Z	Drainage of Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle with Drainage Device, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach
0K944ZX	Drainage of Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach, Diagnostic
0K944ZZ	Drainage of Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach

DRG Codes

18 rows

DRG Code	Description
040	Peripheral, Cranial Nerve and Other Nervous System Procedures with MCC
041	Peripheral, Cranial Nerve and Other Nervous System Procedures with CC or Peripheral Neurostimulator
042	Peripheral, Cranial Nerve and Other Nervous System Procedures without CC/MCC
500	Soft Tissue Procedures with MCC
501	Soft Tissue Procedures with CC
502	Soft Tissue Procedures without CC/MCC
579	Other Skin, Subcutaneous Tissue and Breast Procedures with MCC
580	Other Skin, Subcutaneous Tissue and Breast Procedures with CC
581	Other Skin, Subcutaneous Tissue and Breast Procedures without CC/MCC
802	Other O.R. Procedures of the Blood and Blood Forming Organs with MCC

Showing 1–10 of 18

Typical Clinical Scenarios

An adult presents to the emergency department with acute, severe dysphagia, fever, and a fluctuant submucosal swelling of the floor of mouth after a rapidly enlarging tongue abscess. Imaging confirms an intramuscular abscess within the tongue muscle threatening airway compromise, and the patient is admitted for urgent drainage to evacuate purulent fluid and reduce infection and mass effect. Typical codes: 0K940ZZ, 0K943ZZ
A pediatric patient with recurrent oropharyngeal infections is admitted electively for drainage of a chronic palatal muscle abscess that failed outpatient needle aspiration; the planned procedure uses a percutaneous endoscopic approach to precisely evacuate the collection and place a drain for ongoing postoperative drainage. Typical codes: 0K9440Z, 0K944ZZ
A patient develops a postoperative infected hematoma of the pharyngeal muscles after head and neck surgery, with persistent purulent drainage and systemic inflammatory response; inpatient management requires open drainage with placement of a surgical drainage device to control infection and promote healing. Typical codes: 0K9400Z, 0K940ZZ

Related Codes

0K90-HEAD-MUSCLE-DRAINAGE

ICD-10-PCS Code For Head Muscle: Procedure Code Group Overview

0K91-FACIAL-MUSCLE-DRAINAGE

ICD-10-PCS Code For Facial Muscle: Procedure Code Group Overview

0K92-NECK-MUSCLE-RIGHT-DRAINAGE

ICD-10-PCS Code For Neck Muscle, Right: Procedure Code Group Overview

0K93-NECK-MUSCLE-LEFT-DRAINAGE

ICD-10-PCS Code For Neck Muscle Left: Procedure Code Group Overview

0K95-SHOULDER-MUSCLE-DRAINAGE

ICD-10-PCS Code For Shoulder Muscle: Procedure Code Group Overview

0K96-SHOULDER-MUSCLE-LEFT-DRAINAGE

ICD-10-PCS Code For Shoulder Muscle Left: Procedure Code Group Overview

0K97-UPPER-ARM-MUSCLE-DRAINAGE

ICD-10-PCS Code For Upper Arm Muscle: Procedure Code Group Overview

0K98-LEFT-UPPER-ARM-DRAINAGE

ICD-10-PCS Code For Upper Arm Muscle, Left: Procedure Code Group Overview

0K99-LOWER-ARM-AND-WRIST-DRAINAGE

ICD-10-PCS Code For Lower Arm And Wrist Muscle: Procedure Code Group Overview

0K9B-LEFT-LOWER-ARM-DRAINAGE

ICD-10-PCS Code For Lower Arm And Wrist Muscle: Procedure Code Group Overview

Showing 1–10 of 27

Frequently Asked Questions

References

1.CPT® Codes and Descriptions. AAPC. Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.Maintains the CPT code set's official descriptions and guidelines, licensed from the American Medical Association, used as the definitional source for CPT codes on this page.
2.HCPCS Quarterly Update. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's quarterly release of HCPCS Level II codes and short/long descriptors, the source for HCPCS code definitions and update history.
3.ICD-10-CM Full Code List. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's complete ICD-10-CM diagnosis code list, used to cross-reference diagnosis codes associated with this procedure or service.

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When to Use

ICD-10-PCS Codes

9 rows

ICD-10-PCS Code	Description
0K9400Z	Drainage of Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle with Drainage Device, Open Approach
0K940ZX	Drainage of Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle, Open Approach, Diagnostic
0K940ZZ	Drainage of Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle, Open Approach
0K9430Z	Drainage of Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle with Drainage Device, Percutaneous Approach
0K943ZX	Drainage of Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle, Percutaneous Approach, Diagnostic
0K943ZZ	Drainage of Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle, Percutaneous Approach
0K9440Z	Drainage of Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle with Drainage Device, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach
0K944ZX	Drainage of Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach, Diagnostic
0K944ZZ	Drainage of Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach

DRG Codes

18 rows

DRG Code	Description
040	Peripheral, Cranial Nerve and Other Nervous System Procedures with MCC
041	Peripheral, Cranial Nerve and Other Nervous System Procedures with CC or Peripheral Neurostimulator
042	Peripheral, Cranial Nerve and Other Nervous System Procedures without CC/MCC
500	Soft Tissue Procedures with MCC
501	Soft Tissue Procedures with CC
502	Soft Tissue Procedures without CC/MCC
579	Other Skin, Subcutaneous Tissue and Breast Procedures with MCC
580	Other Skin, Subcutaneous Tissue and Breast Procedures with CC
581	Other Skin, Subcutaneous Tissue and Breast Procedures without CC/MCC
802	Other O.R. Procedures of the Blood and Blood Forming Organs with MCC

Showing 1–10 of 18

Typical Clinical Scenarios

An adult presents to the emergency department with acute, severe dysphagia, fever, and a fluctuant submucosal swelling of the floor of mouth after a rapidly enlarging tongue abscess. Imaging confirms an intramuscular abscess within the tongue muscle threatening airway compromise, and the patient is admitted for urgent drainage to evacuate purulent fluid and reduce infection and mass effect. Typical codes: 0K940ZZ, 0K943ZZ
A pediatric patient with recurrent oropharyngeal infections is admitted electively for drainage of a chronic palatal muscle abscess that failed outpatient needle aspiration; the planned procedure uses a percutaneous endoscopic approach to precisely evacuate the collection and place a drain for ongoing postoperative drainage. Typical codes: 0K9440Z, 0K944ZZ
A patient develops a postoperative infected hematoma of the pharyngeal muscles after head and neck surgery, with persistent purulent drainage and systemic inflammatory response; inpatient management requires open drainage with placement of a surgical drainage device to control infection and promote healing. Typical codes: 0K9400Z, 0K940ZZ

Related Codes

0K90-HEAD-MUSCLE-DRAINAGE

ICD-10-PCS Code For Head Muscle: Procedure Code Group Overview

0K91-FACIAL-MUSCLE-DRAINAGE

ICD-10-PCS Code For Facial Muscle: Procedure Code Group Overview

0K92-NECK-MUSCLE-RIGHT-DRAINAGE

ICD-10-PCS Code For Neck Muscle, Right: Procedure Code Group Overview

0K93-NECK-MUSCLE-LEFT-DRAINAGE

ICD-10-PCS Code For Neck Muscle Left: Procedure Code Group Overview

0K95-SHOULDER-MUSCLE-DRAINAGE

ICD-10-PCS Code For Shoulder Muscle: Procedure Code Group Overview

0K96-SHOULDER-MUSCLE-LEFT-DRAINAGE

ICD-10-PCS Code For Shoulder Muscle Left: Procedure Code Group Overview

0K97-UPPER-ARM-MUSCLE-DRAINAGE

ICD-10-PCS Code For Upper Arm Muscle: Procedure Code Group Overview

0K98-LEFT-UPPER-ARM-DRAINAGE

ICD-10-PCS Code For Upper Arm Muscle, Left: Procedure Code Group Overview

0K99-LOWER-ARM-AND-WRIST-DRAINAGE

ICD-10-PCS Code For Lower Arm And Wrist Muscle: Procedure Code Group Overview

0K9B-LEFT-LOWER-ARM-DRAINAGE

ICD-10-PCS Code For Lower Arm And Wrist Muscle: Procedure Code Group Overview

Showing 1–10 of 27

Frequently Asked Questions

References

1.CPT® Codes and Descriptions. AAPC. Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.Maintains the CPT code set's official descriptions and guidelines, licensed from the American Medical Association, used as the definitional source for CPT codes on this page.
2.HCPCS Quarterly Update. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's quarterly release of HCPCS Level II codes and short/long descriptors, the source for HCPCS code definitions and update history.
3.ICD-10-CM Full Code List. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's complete ICD-10-CM diagnosis code list, used to cross-reference diagnosis codes associated with this procedure or service.

Published by

Trek Health powers OpenPayer with a leading commercial payer intelligence platform, seamlessly converting fragmented payer data into actionable insights for provider organizations.

ICD-10-PCS Code For Tongue Palate Pharynx Muscle: Procedure Code Group Overview

Sign up for ICD-10-PCS Code For Tongue Palate Pharynx Muscle: Procedure Code Group Overview policy alerts

Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle Drainage Procedure Overview

Code Attributes

ICD-10-PCS Code For Tongue Palate Pharynx Muscle: Procedure Code Group Overview

Sign up for ICD-10-PCS Code For Tongue Palate Pharynx Muscle: Procedure Code Group Overview policy alerts

Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle Drainage Procedure Overview

Code Attributes

When to Use

ICD-10-PCS Codes

DRG Codes

Typical Clinical Scenarios

Related Codes

Which body system and operation do the ICD-10-PCS codes in the 0K94 group represent?

What are the available approaches and device designations within the 0K94 code group?

How should coders use the 0K94 codes for inpatient documentation?

What clinical situations are these drainage procedures intended to address?

Which DRG categories may be related to procedures coded from the 0K94 group?

References

When to Use

ICD-10-PCS Codes

DRG Codes

Typical Clinical Scenarios

Related Codes

Which body system and operation do the ICD-10-PCS codes in the 0K94 group represent?

What are the available approaches and device designations within the 0K94 code group?

How should coders use the 0K94 codes for inpatient documentation?

What clinical situations are these drainage procedures intended to address?

Which DRG categories may be related to procedures coded from the 0K94 group?

References