Swelling of limb vs edema of leg

[tag60]

Pt presents to outpatient clinic with symptoms concerning for DVT, including leg swelling, pain, and warmth and is told to go to ER to rule out DVT. What is the better/correct code for the symptom of leg swelling? I'm unsure whether to look up "edema" or "swelling" when both words appear in the report.

Per ICD-9 index:

Edema, legs = 782.3 (in symptoms section)
Swelling, leg =729.81 (in musculoskeletal/connective tissue section)

Perhaps because this is a symptom, I use 782.3...? Would I still use that even if provider states only "swelling" in leg?

Thanks in advance!

 

[mitchellde]

If the provider states swelling of leg then you code the swelling of limb. As a coder you cannot make the decision that this is edema.

 

[SDAlward]

I agree I would use 729.81 for swelling of the limb, you can't assume anything, although i really dont understand the difference between swelling and edema