ICD-10 Codes for Chronic Venous Insufficiency (I87)
Chronic venous insufficiency looks like a one-code condition — I87.2. But ICD-10-CM actually splits it three ways, and the split turns on cause: whether the provider documents postthrombotic syndrome — venous disease linked to a prior deep vein thrombosis — or chronic venous hypertension. Reaching for I87.2 when the note documents either is the everyday error in vein-clinic coding.
One condition, three code families
ICD-10-CM files chronic venous insufficiency under I87, Other disorders of veins — and splits it by cause. The question that sorts every note is: does the provider link this to a prior deep vein thrombosis?
| Code | What it covers |
|---|---|
| I87.0- | Postthrombotic syndrome — chronic venous disease secondary to a prior DVT, subdivided by complication and laterality |
| I87.1 | Compression of vein |
| I87.2 | Venous insufficiency (chronic) (peripheral) — the everyday CVI code, including stasis dermatitis |
| I87.3- | Chronic venous hypertension (idiopathic) — without a prior DVT, subdivided by complication and laterality |
| I87.8 | Other specified disorders of veins |
| I87.9 | Disorder of vein, unspecified |
The three-way split matters because the families are built differently. I87.2 is a single code with no laterality and no complication axis. I87.0- and I87.3- are full grids — complication (none, ulcer, inflammation, ulcer and inflammation, other) crossed with laterality (right, left, bilateral, unspecified). The tabular keeps I87.0- and I87.3- strictly apart: I87.0- carries an Excludes1 for “chronic venous hypertension without deep vein thrombosis (I87.3-),” and I87.3- carries the mirror-image Excludes1 for “chronic venous hypertension due to deep vein thrombosis (I87.0-).” The word idiopathic in the I87.3- titles is doing exactly that work — it marks the no-DVT branch.
The codes you'll use most
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| I87.2 | Venous insufficiency (chronic) (peripheral) |
| I87.001 | Postthrombotic syndrome without complications of right lower extremity |
| I87.002 | Postthrombotic syndrome without complications of left lower extremity |
| I87.011 | Postthrombotic syndrome with ulcer of right lower extremity |
| I87.012 | Postthrombotic syndrome with ulcer of left lower extremity |
| I87.301 | Chronic venous hypertension (idiopathic) without complications of right lower extremity |
| I87.302 | Chronic venous hypertension (idiopathic) without complications of left lower extremity |
| I87.311 | Chronic venous hypertension (idiopathic) with ulcer of right lower extremity |
| I87.312 | Chronic venous hypertension (idiopathic) with ulcer of left lower extremity |
| Z86.718 | Personal history of other venous thrombosis and embolism |
Every complication has a bilateral and an unspecified-side code too. Search the full I87 family in the lookup tool.
How to choose the right code
1. Postthrombotic syndrome documented? Then it's I87.0-
When the provider documents postthrombotic syndrome — or links the chronic venous disease to a prior deep vein thrombosis with wording like “due to” or “secondary to” — the code comes from I87.0-. The tabular lists “chronic venous hypertension due to deep vein thrombosis” and “postphlebitic syndrome” as inclusion terms, so all three phrasings land on the same family. What does not get you there is a bare DVT history: ICD-10-CM assumes a link only for “with”/“in” index wording, and this one is a “due to” — the provider has to state the connection. CVI documented next to an unlinked history of DVT codes to I87.2 plus Z86.718, and is a query if postthrombotic syndrome is suspected. Once you're in I87.0-, pick the fifth character by complication and the sixth by side: without complications (I87.001–I87.009), with ulcer (I87.01-), with inflammation (I87.02-), with ulcer and inflammation (I87.03-), or with other complications (I87.09-). The acute clot itself is a different chapter of the story — acute vs. chronic DVT and the personal-history code Z86.718 are covered in our ICD-10 guide to DVT.
2. Venous hypertension without a DVT: I87.3-
When the provider documents chronic venous hypertension and there's no thrombotic history, use I87.3- — the (idiopathic) family. The grid mirrors I87.0-: without complications (I87.30-, which is also where asymptomatic disease and “chronic venous hypertension NOS” land), with ulcer (I87.31-), with inflammation (I87.32-), with ulcer and inflammation (I87.33-), or with other complications (I87.39-). Stasis edema is an inclusion term here. One boundary to respect: I87.3- carries an Excludes1 for varicose veins of the lower extremities (I83.-) — when the venous hypertension picture is actually documented varicosities, the code belongs in the I83 family instead. See our ICD-10 guide to varicose veins for that side of the line.
I87.0-, and when it documents chronic venous hypertension, it's I87.3-. Falling back to I87.2 in either case throws away the cause, the side, and the complication — the three things the payer's medical-necessity edit is looking for.
3. Everyday chronic venous insufficiency: I87.2
I87.2, venous insufficiency (chronic) (peripheral), is the right code for garden-variety CVI — and it explicitly includes stasis dermatitis. Two instructional notes ride along in the FY2026 tabular. The first is a use-additional-code note: add L97.-, if applicable, to specify the site and severity of any ulcer. The second is a “code also, if applicable” note for associated hypertensive conditions such as essential (primary) hypertension, hypertensive heart disease, hypertensive chronic kidney disease, and hypertensive heart and chronic kidney disease (our hypertension guide covers that family) — and unlike a use-additional-code note, a code-also note carries no sequencing direction; the order depends on the circumstances of the encounter. One exclusion to know: stasis dermatitis occurring with varicose veins is an Excludes1 — that combination is coded with the varicose-veins-with-inflammation codes in the I83 family, not I87.2.
4. Is there an ulcer? Add L97 — and sequence it second
The ulcer codes in both grids — I87.01-, I87.03-, I87.31-, I87.33- — carry the instruction “Use additional code to specify site and severity of ulcer (L97.-).” The L97.- code supplies what the I87 code can't: the ulcer's site (thigh, calf, ankle, heel and midfoot, or other parts of the foot and lower leg) and its depth (limited to breakdown of skin, fat layer exposed, muscle or bone involvement, necrosis). Sequencing is settled from the L97 side too: category L97 says to code first any associated underlying condition, and its list names chronic venous hypertension (I87.31-, I87.33-) and postthrombotic syndrome (I87.01-, I87.03-) explicitly. The list is introduced by “such as” — it isn't exhaustive — so an ulcer with plain I87.2 follows the same pattern: the vein disease first, the L97 ulcer code second.
Common venous insufficiency coding mistakes
- Coding I87.2 when postthrombotic syndrome is documented. Documented postthrombotic syndrome moves the code to
I87.0-— which also captures the complication and the side that I87.2 can't express. The reverse inference is just as wrong: a bare DVT history with no linking language doesn't make CVI postthrombotic. That'sI87.2plusZ86.718— and a query if the picture suggests postthrombotic syndrome. - Dropping laterality on the grid codes. The sixth character of
I87.0-andI87.3-is right/left/bilateral/unspecified. When the note names the leg — and vein-clinic notes almost always do — the unspecified “9” codes undersell the documentation. - Missing the L97 add-on. Every “with ulcer” code instructs you to add
L97.-for site and severity. An I87 ulcer code reported alone is incomplete. - Coding a complication that isn't documented. “With ulcer” and “with inflammation” are documentation-driven choices, not clinical inferences. No documented complication means the
I87.30-/I87.00-without-complications codes. - Reporting I87.3- alongside varicose vein codes. The Excludes1 on I87.3- bars pairing it with
I83.-— decide which family the documentation actually supports.
A worked example
I87.012L97.321Z86.718The documented postthrombotic syndrome — not the DVT history by itself — is what selects the I87.0- family over I87.2, and the documented ulcer plus the left side make it I87.012. Had the assessment said only “CVI, history of DVT,” the right answer would be I87.2 plus Z86.718 and a query. The use-additional note on the ulcer codes brings in L97.321 (left ankle, limited to breakdown of skin), sequenced after the I87 code per L97's code-first instruction. Z86.718 flags the resolved DVT itself — an acute DVT code would be wrong here because the clot is history, not an active problem.
CEAP classes in the note — what they do (and don't) tell the coder
Vein-clinic documentation is full of CEAP shorthand — “C4b disease,” “C6, Es.” CEAP (Clinical–Etiology–Anatomy–Pathophysiology) grades the clinical picture from C0 (no visible disease) through C1 (telangiectasias), C2 (varicose veins), C3 (edema), C4 (skin changes such as pigmentation or eczema), C5 (healed ulcer), and C6 (active ulcer). It's a clinical severity vocabulary, not an ICD-10 axis — there is no official crosswalk from a C-class to a code, and a coder shouldn't invent one.
What CEAP language can do is point at the right documentation questions. A C2 note is describing varicose veins — check whether the encounter belongs in the I83 family rather than I87. A C6 means an active ulcer is present, so expect an I87 or I83 “with ulcer” code plus the L97.- add-on — and if the L97 severity detail isn't in the wound documentation, that's a query. A C5 is a healed ulcer: don't report an active-ulcer combination for it. And an etiology letter of Es (secondary) with a thrombotic history is a strong hint the note supports I87.0- rather than the idiopathic I87.3- — but the code still rides on what the provider actually documents, not on the abbreviation.
What the note needs to document
- Postthrombotic syndrome by name — or provider wording linking the venous disease to the prior DVT (“due to,” “secondary to”); a bare DVT history alone doesn't route the code to I87.0-
- Laterality — right, left, or bilateral — for every I87.0- / I87.3- code
- The complication — ulcer, inflammation, both, or other — and for ulcers the site and deepest tissue layer, which select the L97.- code
- Whether varicose veins are part of the picture — which moves the encounter to the I83 family
Frequently asked questions
The everyday code is I87.2, venous insufficiency (chronic) (peripheral), which also covers stasis dermatitis. But if the provider documents postthrombotic syndrome — chronic venous disease due to a prior DVT — use I87.0- instead, and if the note documents chronic venous hypertension without a DVT, use I87.3- — both of those families add complication and laterality detail that I87.2 can't express.
Two codes: the underlying vein disease first, then L97.- for the ulcer's site and severity. The ulcer codes — for example I87.311 (chronic venous hypertension with ulcer, right leg) or I87.012 (postthrombotic syndrome with ulcer, left leg) — carry a “use additional code” note pointing to L97, and category L97 says to code the underlying condition first.
Postthrombotic syndrome codes to I87.0-, chosen by complication and side — for example I87.001 for the right leg without complications or I87.012 for the left leg with an ulcer. The tabular includes “chronic venous hypertension due to deep vein thrombosis” and “postphlebitic syndrome” under I87.0-, and an Excludes1 keeps it strictly separate from the no-DVT I87.3- codes.
I87.2 is generic chronic venous insufficiency — one code, no laterality, no complication detail. I87.3- is documented chronic venous hypertension (idiopathic, meaning no prior DVT), a full grid of complication-by-laterality codes. Use I87.3- when the provider documents venous hypertension; use I87.2 for CVI or stasis dermatitis documented without it.
No — CEAP is clinical severity vocabulary, and there is no official mapping from C-classes to ICD-10-CM codes. But it's a useful signal: C6 means an active ulcer (expect a “with ulcer” code plus L97.-), C5 is a healed ulcer (don't code an active one), and C2 points toward the varicose-veins family (I83.-) rather than I87.