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

The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Procedure Coding System (ICD-10-PCS) code group 0KU4 includes procedures performed to supplement muscles in the tongue, palate, and pharynx. These ICD-10-PCS codes are used for inpatient documentation when biological or synthetic material is placed to reinforce or augment muscular function of the tongue, palate, or pharynx. Accurate coding within the ICD-10-PCS 0KU4 group is essential for proper inpatient reimbursement, as it captures the specific supplement procedure performed and supports clinical documentation accuracy.

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Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle Supplement Procedure Overview

Procedures in this group involve placing biological or synthetic material to reinforce or augment muscles of the tongue, palate, and pharynx and target the muscular system. These interventions physically supplement muscle function to improve swallowing, speech, or upper airway patency. Accurate ICD-10-PCS coding of these supplement procedures is important for inpatient reimbursement because it documents the specific augmentation 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
U	Operation	Supplement
4	Body Part	Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle

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

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Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle Supplement Procedure Overview

Code Attributes

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

When to Use

Use a code from this group when material is placed on or in tongue, palate, or pharyngeal muscles specifically to augment or reinforce their function. Typical clinical circumstances include interventions to improve swallowing, speech mechanics, or airway patency where augmentation of muscle tissue is performed.

ICD-10-PCS Codes

6 rows

ICD-10-PCS Code	Description
0KU407Z	Supplement Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle with Autologous Tissue Substitute, Open Approach
0KU40JZ	Supplement Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle with Synthetic Substitute, Open Approach
0KU40KZ	Supplement Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle with Nonautologous Tissue Substitute, Open Approach
0KU447Z	Supplement Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle with Autologous Tissue Substitute, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach
0KU44JZ	Supplement Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle with Synthetic Substitute, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach
0KU44KZ	Supplement Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle with Nonautologous Tissue Substitute, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach

DRG Codes

12 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
907	Other O.R. Procedures for Injuries with MCC

Showing 1–10 of 12

Typical Clinical Scenarios

An adult patient with progressive obstructive sleep apnea refractory to conservative measures presents for a planned operative augmentation of the soft palate musculature to reduce collapse during sleep. The surgeon places a synthetic implant directly into the palate muscles via an open transoral approach to stiffen and reinforce the musculature and improve airway patency. This elective procedure is performed to augment muscle function and reduce apneic events. Typical codes: 0KU40JZ
An elderly stroke patient with recent aspiration pneumonia is admitted for inpatient management of persistent dysphagia and poor tongue propulsion despite rehabilitation. To improve swallowing safety, the team performs an endoscopic placement of autologous fat grafts into the tongue musculature to augment bulk and improve bolus control. The procedure is done percutaneously endoscopic to directly supplement the tongue muscles and reduce aspiration risk. Typical codes: 0KU447Z
A patient with prior implant augmentation of the pharyngeal muscles develops implant extrusion and chronic pharyngeal irritation, requiring removal and replacement with donor-derived tissue substitute to restore pharyngeal muscle bulk. During the inpatient revision, the surgeon removes the failed synthetic material and places a nonautologous tissue substitute into the pharyngeal musculature via an open approach to re-establish augmentative support. Typical codes: 0KU40KZ

Related Codes

0KU0-HEAD-MUSCLE-SUPPLEMENT

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

0KU1-FACIAL-MUSCLE-SUPPLEMENT

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

0KU3-NECK-MUSCLE-SUPPLEMENT

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

0KU5-SHOULDER-MUSCLE-SUPPLEMENT

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

0KU6-LEFT-SHOULDER-MUSCLE-SUPPLEMENT

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

0KU7-UPPER-ARM-MUSCLE-RIGHT-SUPPLEMENT

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

0KU8-LEFT-UPPER-ARM-SUPPLEMENT

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

0KU9-LOWER-ARM-AND-WRIST-MUSCLE-SUPPLEMENT

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

0KUB-LOWER-ARM-AND-WRIST-MUSCLE-SUPPLEMENT

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

0KUC-HAND-MUSCLE-SUPPLEMENT

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

Showing 1–10 of 26

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

6 rows

ICD-10-PCS Code	Description
0KU407Z	Supplement Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle with Autologous Tissue Substitute, Open Approach
0KU40JZ	Supplement Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle with Synthetic Substitute, Open Approach
0KU40KZ	Supplement Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle with Nonautologous Tissue Substitute, Open Approach
0KU447Z	Supplement Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle with Autologous Tissue Substitute, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach
0KU44JZ	Supplement Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle with Synthetic Substitute, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach
0KU44KZ	Supplement Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle with Nonautologous Tissue Substitute, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach

DRG Codes

12 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
907	Other O.R. Procedures for Injuries with MCC

Showing 1–10 of 12

Typical Clinical Scenarios

An adult patient with progressive obstructive sleep apnea refractory to conservative measures presents for a planned operative augmentation of the soft palate musculature to reduce collapse during sleep. The surgeon places a synthetic implant directly into the palate muscles via an open transoral approach to stiffen and reinforce the musculature and improve airway patency. This elective procedure is performed to augment muscle function and reduce apneic events. Typical codes: 0KU40JZ
An elderly stroke patient with recent aspiration pneumonia is admitted for inpatient management of persistent dysphagia and poor tongue propulsion despite rehabilitation. To improve swallowing safety, the team performs an endoscopic placement of autologous fat grafts into the tongue musculature to augment bulk and improve bolus control. The procedure is done percutaneously endoscopic to directly supplement the tongue muscles and reduce aspiration risk. Typical codes: 0KU447Z
A patient with prior implant augmentation of the pharyngeal muscles develops implant extrusion and chronic pharyngeal irritation, requiring removal and replacement with donor-derived tissue substitute to restore pharyngeal muscle bulk. During the inpatient revision, the surgeon removes the failed synthetic material and places a nonautologous tissue substitute into the pharyngeal musculature via an open approach to re-establish augmentative support. Typical codes: 0KU40KZ

Related Codes

0KU0-HEAD-MUSCLE-SUPPLEMENT

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

0KU1-FACIAL-MUSCLE-SUPPLEMENT

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

0KU3-NECK-MUSCLE-SUPPLEMENT

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

0KU5-SHOULDER-MUSCLE-SUPPLEMENT

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

0KU6-LEFT-SHOULDER-MUSCLE-SUPPLEMENT

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

0KU7-UPPER-ARM-MUSCLE-RIGHT-SUPPLEMENT

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

0KU8-LEFT-UPPER-ARM-SUPPLEMENT

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

0KU9-LOWER-ARM-AND-WRIST-MUSCLE-SUPPLEMENT

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

0KUB-LOWER-ARM-AND-WRIST-MUSCLE-SUPPLEMENT

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

0KUC-HAND-MUSCLE-SUPPLEMENT

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

Showing 1–10 of 26

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: Procedure Code Group Overview

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

Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle Supplement Procedure Overview

Code Attributes

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

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

Tongue, Palate, Pharynx Muscle Supplement Procedure Overview

Code Attributes

When to Use

ICD-10-PCS Codes

DRG Codes

Typical Clinical Scenarios

Related Codes

Which ICD-10-PCS code group covers supplement procedures for the tongue, palate, and pharynx?

What are the operation and body system attributes for this procedure group?

Which specific codes in the 0KU4 group indicate the material used and approach?

How does accurate coding in the 0KU4 group affect inpatient reimbursement?

Which Related DRGs may be associated with procedures coded in the 0KU4 group?

References

When to Use

ICD-10-PCS Codes

DRG Codes

Typical Clinical Scenarios

Related Codes

Which ICD-10-PCS code group covers supplement procedures for the tongue, palate, and pharynx?

What are the operation and body system attributes for this procedure group?

Which specific codes in the 0KU4 group indicate the material used and approach?

How does accurate coding in the 0KU4 group affect inpatient reimbursement?

Which Related DRGs may be associated with procedures coded in the 0KU4 group?

References