ICD-10-PCS Billable Code

0NR30KZ

Replacement Parietal Bone, Right to No Qualifier with Nonautologous Tissue Substitute, Open Approach

Procedural Specifications

Clinical Axis Detail Definition
Section0 Medical and Surgical
Body SystemN Head and Facial Bones
OperationR Replacement
Body Part3 Parietal Bone, Right
Approach0 Open
DeviceK Nonautologous Tissue Substitute
QualifierZ No Qualifier

Operation Definition

Putting in or on biological or synthetic material that physically takes the place and/or function of all or a portion of a body part

Procedure Overview

Replacement procedures put in biological or synthetic material - such as a cranioplasty plate, custom facial implant, or bone graft - to physically take the place of all or part of a skull or facial bone that is missing, damaged, or was previously removed. This family is used when the goal is not just to fix the existing bone but to substitute new material for a portion that no longer serves its structural role.

Common reasons include reconstructing a skull defect left after a craniectomy for trauma or tumor, rebuilding an orbital floor after a blowout fracture, or restoring facial contour with a custom implant following cancer resection. Patients pursuing these procedures are typically working toward both functional protection of underlying structures, like the brain or eye, and restoration of facial appearance.

Anatomy & Axis Detail

Parietal Bone, Right

The right parietal bone forms much of the posterolateral roof of the skull and overlies the parietal lobe of the brain, contributing to cranial strength along the sagittal and coronal suture lines. Replacement of this bone is generally performed after a craniectomy done for trauma, tumor invasion, or infected bone flap removal, using a custom cranioplasty implant or bone graft contoured to match the adjacent intact skull. Because the parietal region carries much of the convex curvature of the head, an ill-fitting replacement can create a visible or palpable step-off, so precise shaping to the patient's own cranial geometry, often guided by imaging-based templates, is important. The right-sided designation distinguishes this procedure from a mirrored defect on the left, which matters both for surgical planning near the sagittal sinus and for accurate documentation when only one side has been reconstructed.

Approach: Open

Open approach means the surgeon cuts through skin, mucous membrane, or other tissue layers to physically expose the target site to view before performing the procedure. It gives direct visualization and hands-on access, distinguishing it from Percutaneous approaches where instruments pass through a small puncture without exposing the site. Open is typical for procedures needing wide access, such as most laparotomies.

Device: Nonautologous Tissue Substitute

Nonautologous Tissue Substitute refers to biologic material sourced from a donor or another species, such as an allograft or xenograft, used to replace a body part. It differs from Autologous Tissue Substitute by tissue origin outside the patient's own body, and from Synthetic Substitute by being biologic rather than manufactured material.

Coding & Documentation

Documentation should specify the material used, whether an autologous bone graft, titanium mesh, or synthetic implant, and confirm that it is taking the place of bone rather than merely reinforcing it. Coders need to identify the specific facial or cranial bone being replaced, since body part selection within this family is granular. A frequent error is coding Replacement when a graft is instead used to support a repair rather than substitute for missing bone, and another is confusing a temporary spacer or external fixation device, which does not qualify as replacement material, with a permanent implant.

Commonly Confused With

SupplementReplacement is closely related to Supplement procedures in body systems where that root operation exists, and to Repair within this same family; the key distinction from Repair is that Replacement always introduces material that takes over the bone's structural role, whereas Repair works with the patient's own existing bone.
RemovalIt is also distinguished from Removal, which takes material out without putting anything new in its place.