Q18.4: Macrostomia
Your mouth aperture is longer than normal. This condition is congenital, which means you were born with it.
An elongated mouth aperture is caused by a cleft forming between the soft tissues of the upper jaw and lower jaw. While developing, during pregnancy, the soft tissues of the upper jaw and lower jaw grow towards each other. When they are adjacent to each other, they merge. The mouth aperture remains as the opening between the two areas. If the soft tissues of the upper jaw and lower jaw do not merge properly, the mouth aperture may be elongated. An elongated mouth aperture can extend more or less deeply into the layers of tissue. The cleft may only affect the skin. The underlying muscles may also be affected. The cleft may also extend through all the layers of tissue.
Additional indicator
On medical documents, the ICD code is often appended by letters that indicate the diagnostic certainty or the affected side of the body.
- G: Confirmed diagnosis
- V: Tentative diagnosis
- Z: Condition after
- A: Excluded diagnosis
- L: Left
- R: Right
- B: Both sides
Further information
Note
This information is not intended for self-diagnosis and does not replace professional medical advice from a doctor. If you find an ICD code on a personal medical document, please also note the additional indicator used for diagnostic confidence.Your doctor will assist you with any health-related questions and explain the ICD diagnosis code to you in a direct consultation if necessary.
Source
Provided by the non-profit organization “Was hab’ ich?” gemeinnützige GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG).