Reserved for future guideline expansion
K12.2
BookmarkCellulitis and abscess of mouth
Filed alongside this entry 38
under Furuncle
- abdominal wall L02.221
- anus K61.0
- axilla (region) L02.42
- back (any part except buttock and flank) L02.222
- breast N61.1
- buttock L02.32
- cheek (external) L02.02
- chest wall L02.223
- chin L02.02
- corpus cavernosum N48.21
- face L02.02
- flank L02.227
- foot L02.62
- forehead L02.02
- gluteal (region) L02.32
- groin L02.224
- hand L02.52
- head L02.821
- labium (majus) (minus) N76.4
- lower limb L02.42
- malignant A22.0
- mouth K12.2
- navel L02.226
- neck L02.12
- nose J34.0
- partes posteriores L02.32
- pectoral region L02.223
- penis N48.21
- perineum L02.225
- scalp L02.821
- seminal vesicle N49.0
- specified site NEC L02.828
- submandibular K12.2
- temple (region) L02.02
- trunk L02.229
- umbilicus L02.226
- upper limb L02.42
- vulva N76.4
Index entries, exactly as the book files them. This says they are listed together — not that any of them is documented in your chart.
Billable FY2027 2026-10-01 → 2027-09-30
How to use this page
Everything the published sources say about one code, on one page.
- Read the Excludes1 block first — it is the one that stops you coding this at all alongside another code.
- Excludes2, Code first, Use additional and Includes follow. A note inherited from a parent category is labelled with the category it came from, so you can see why it applies.
- Official Guidelines sit below. "Guidelines naming this code" cite the code or a range containing it; "Chapter guidance" is the general guidance for its chapter and is the weaker signal.
- Guideline text is quoted verbatim with its section number and page, so you can check it against the published document.
- Risk-model chips show which published CMS models map this code.
What this page does not do
- Guidance is quoted, never paraphrased — a paraphrase of a coding rule is a different rule.
- Medication candidates, where shown, are matched by condition *name* and are offered as candidates for you to judge. They are not "the drugs for this code".
Exclusions18never code together
K12code
K12.2code
Excludes2
- abscess of salivary gland (K11.3)K11.3K11.3
- abscess of tongue (K14.0)K14.0K14.0
- periapical abscess (K04.6-K04.7)K04.6-K04.7K04.6-K04.7
- periodontal abscess (K05.21)K05.21K05.21
- peritonsillar abscess (J36)J36J36
K00-K95chapter
Excludes2
- certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P04-P96)P04-P96
- certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)A00-B99
- complications of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O9A)O00-O9A
- congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)Q00-Q99
- endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E88)E00-E88
- injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88)S00-T88
- neoplasms (C00-D49)C00-D49
- symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R94)R00-R94
Excludes1 — never code together. The excluded condition and this one are mutually exclusive.
Excludes2 — not included here, but the patient may have both. Code both when documented.
Instructional notes10
K12code
Use additional code
- code to identify:
- alcohol abuse and dependence (F10.-)F10.-
- exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (Z77.22)Z77.22
- exposure to tobacco smoke in the perinatal period (P96.81)P96.81
- history of tobacco dependence (Z87.891)Z87.891
- occupational exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (Z57.31)Z57.31
- tobacco dependence (F17.-)F17.-
- tobacco use (Z72.0)Z72.0
K12.2code
Inclusion terms
- Cellulitis of mouth (floor)
- Submandibular abscess
Official Guidelines1names this code
ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting, quoted in full. Published by CMS and NCHS; in the public domain.
Index entries leading here11
- Abscess (connective tissue) (embolic) (fistulous) (infective) (metastatic) (multiple) (pernicious) (pyogenic) (septic) L02.91
- Angina (attack) (cardiac) (chest) (heart) (pectoris) (syndrome) (vasomotor) I20.9
- Fistula (cutaneous) L98.8
- Cellulitis (diffuse) (phlegmonous) (septic) (suppurative) L03.90
- Disease, diseased — see also Syndrome
- Ludwig's (submaxillary cellulitis) K12.2
- Furuncle L02.92
- Gangrene, gangrenous (connective tissue) (dropsical) (dry) (moist) (skin) (ulcer) I96
- uvulitis K12.2
- Ludwig's angina or disease K12.2
- Staphylitis (acute) (catarrhal) (chronic) (gangrenous) (membranous) (suppurative) (ulcerative) K12.2
- Stomatitis (denture) (ulcerative) K12.1
- suppurative (acute) K12.2
- Uvulitis (acute) (catarrhal) (chronic) (membranous) (suppurative) (ulcerative) K12.2
Alongside this code3same parent — K12
Medications2
MED-RT files conditions by MeSH, which carves the world differently from ICD-10. These are name matches on this code's description, offered as candidates — not as an assertion that they are this code.
Additional references
AHA Coding Clinic® Licence required
Official coding advice for this code. Published by the American Hospital Association. Not included in this installation.