Summary & Overview
CPT 12014: Simple Repair of Superficial Wounds of Face and Mucous Membranes, 5.1–7.5 cm
CPT code 12014 designates a simple repair for superficial lacerations of the face, ears, eyelids, nose, lips, and mucous membranes measuring 5.1 to 7.5 cm. This code captures a common, low-complexity procedural service rendered in outpatient settings and emergency departments and is frequently used in acute wound care and minor surgical encounters. Nationally, accurate use of this code supports clinical documentation consistency, appropriate payment for minor surgical repairs, and quality measurement related to wound management.
Major commercial payers covered in this analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, and UnitedHealthcare, with Medicare included for federal coverage context. Readers will find a concise overview of clinical indications tied to CPT code 12014, common billing and coding relationships with adjacent simple repair codes, and guidance on common diagnosis pairings relevant to laceration care. The publication also summarizes typical sites of service and service type to clarify clinical workflow implications.
This summary is intended to help coding professionals, clinical managers, and revenue cycle teams understand where CPT code 12014 fits within the simple repair family, how it aligns with common ICD-10 laceration diagnoses, and what to expect in terms of routine billing scenarios. Data not available in the input will be identified in the full report where applicable.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 12014 describes the simple repair of superficial wounds located on the face, ears, eyelids, nose, lips, and/or mucous membranes where the wound length measures 5.1 cm to 7.5 cm. This procedure is a primary-care or specialty outpatient surgical repair focused on superficial lacerations that require straightforward closure techniques.
Service Type: Simple wound repair (superficial)
Typical Site of Service: Outpatient clinic or emergency department (face, ear, eyelid, nose, lip, or mucous membrane repair)
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A 28-year-old patient presents to an urgent care clinic after sustaining a 6.0 cm superficial laceration across the right cheek and perioral mucosa after a bicycle accident. The wound involves epidermis and superficial dermis without deep tissue involvement or foreign body, and the patient is hemodynamically stable. Local anesthesia is administered, the area is irrigated and cleansed, and simple layered closure of the superficial wound is performed using interrupted nonabsorbable sutures for the skin and absorbable sutures for any mucosal repair. The procedure is documented as a simple repair of a superficial wound 5.1 to 7.5 cm in length on the face.
Typical clinical workflow:
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Triage and wound assessment with vital signs and tetanus status review.
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Wound photography and measurement (documented length 6.0 cm) and determination of wound complexity (superficial, no contamination, no structural repair required).
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Informed consent and local anesthesia (e.g., infiltration of lidocaine with or without epinephrine).
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Wound irrigation, debridement of devitalized tissue as needed, and simple repair technique performed.
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Post-procedure instructions provided for wound care and suture removal timeline, and documentation of procedure details, wound length, anesthesia, and provider taxonomy.
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Coding entry: primary CPT code
12014for simple repair of superficial wound 5.1 to 7.5 cm on the face, with an appropriate ICD-10 diagnosis such asS01.411Ato reflect a right cheek laceration initial encounter.