Otolaryngology Coding Alert

Profit as much as $100 if you can readily identify 40806's purpose.When coding for frenulum release, the first thing you should do is keep your vocabulary straight. Sometimes, physicians tend to mislabel the procedure on their operative note, so you should carefully read the note, and pay attention to these key anatomical structures:Labial -- associate with lipLingual -- think linguistics; under the tongue (language + tongue).Your clues do not end there. You can learn more by differentiating the procedure that your physician performs. Here's how:Clipping (Fenotomy) and Removal (Frenectomy) Spells The DifferenceThe method of frenulum repair should give you some clues, too. For instance, CPT®s 40806 (Incision of labial frenum [frenotomy]) and 41010 (Incision of lingual frenum [frenotomy]) describe the procedure frenotomy wherein the otolaryngologist clips the labial/lingual frenulum, sometimes needing more than one cut to release the upper lip/tongue.On the other hand, CPT®s 40819 (Excision of frenum, labial or buccal [frenumectomy, [...]