Summary & Overview
CPT 12015: Simple Repair of Superficial Facial Wounds
CPT 12015 represents a commonly performed surgical service for the simple repair of superficial wounds to facial and peri-oral structures. As a basic wound-closure procedure, it is frequently billed in ambulatory settings and plays a central role in both primary care and emergency medicine workflows. Nationally, CPT 12015 is relevant for clinicians and billing professionals because it defines the coding standard for superficial soft-tissue repairs on cosmetically and functionally sensitive areas of the head and neck.
This publication covers major payers including Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, Medicare, and UnitedHealthcare. Readers will find an overview of clinical context, typical sites of service, common billing modifiers, related CPT comparators by wound length, and applicable ICD-10 diagnosis examples. The content outlines coding boundaries between adjacent simple repair codes to aid in code selection and documentation alignment. It also highlights common administrative considerations such as multiple-procedure reporting and distinct procedural service scenarios.
Intended for clinicians, coding staff, and revenue cycle professionals, the summary provides clear context for how CPT 12015 fits into ambulatory surgical care and billing workflows. Data not available in the input is noted where applicable.
CPT Code Overview
CPT 12015 describes the simple repair of superficial wounds involving the face, ears, eyelids, nose, lips and/or mucous membranes. The procedure encompasses straightforward closure techniques for superficial lacerations and is classified as a surgical service. The typical site of service for CPT 12015 is the office (POS 11).
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A patient presents to an office-based clinic after sustaining a superficial laceration to a facial structure (for example, an eyelid, lip, nose, or other part of the head). Triage includes history, tetanus status assessment, wound cleaning and irrigation, hemostasis, and local anesthesia. The clinician performs a simple layered or single-layer closure of the superficial wound, typically using sutures appropriate for facial skin or mucous membrane repair, and provides wound care instructions and follow-up. Documentation includes wound length measurement, location, technique, anesthesia, materials used, and encounter type (initial or subsequent).
Coding Specifications
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Modifier
59(Distinct Procedural Service): Use when the simple repair represented by12015is a distinct service from another procedure performed at the same encounter and not normally reported together. Documentation must support distinct procedural service. -
Modifier
51(Multiple Procedures): Use when multiple procedures are performed during the same session and payer policy requires identification of multiple procedures; the primary procedure is listed first and additional procedures are appended with appropriate modifiers per payer rules. -
Associated provider taxonomies and specialties:
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