047L46Z
Dilation Femoral Artery, Left to No Qualifier with Intraluminal Device, Drug-eluting, Three, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach
Procedural Specifications
| Clinical Axis | Detail Definition |
|---|---|
| Section | 0 Medical and Surgical |
| Body System | 4 Lower Arteries |
| Operation | 7 Dilation |
| Body Part | L Femoral Artery, Left |
| Approach | 4 Percutaneous Endoscopic |
| Device | 6 Intraluminal Device, Drug-eluting, Three |
| Qualifier | Z No Qualifier |
Operation Definition
Expanding an orifice or the lumen of a tubular body part
Procedure Overview
This family describes procedures that widen a narrowed or blocked segment of an artery in the leg, pelvis, or abdomen so blood can flow more freely to the tissues those vessels supply. Narrowing in these arteries is commonly caused by atherosclerotic plaque buildup, and when it becomes severe enough, patients may experience leg pain with walking, poor wound healing, or in serious cases, tissue at risk of loss.
The procedure is typically performed using a catheter threaded through the vascular system to the narrowed spot, where a balloon is inflated to press the plaque outward and reopen the lumen. A stent is often left behind to help hold the artery open, though the dilation itself refers to the widening action rather than the device placement. Open surgical techniques that stretch a vessel are also included in this family.
These procedures are generally performed to relieve symptoms of peripheral artery disease, restore circulation to a limb, or address a stenosis found on vascular imaging, and are chosen based on how severe the narrowing is and how much of the artery is affected.
Anatomy & Axis Detail
Femoral Artery, Left
The left femoral artery continues the external iliac artery past the inguinal ligament to supply the thigh and, through further branching, the lower leg, and like the right side is a principal target for treating symptomatic peripheral arterial disease including claudication and rest pain. Dilation reopens narrowed or occluded segments through balloon angioplasty, frequently supplemented by stent placement or specialized balloon technology depending on lesion length and calcification, particularly in the superficial femoral segment where long occlusions are common. Its superficial location also makes it a standard vascular access site, so disease burden here can affect planning for other catheter-based procedures requiring femoral entry. Coding requires clear documentation of whether the common or superficial femoral segment was treated and what device, if any, was used.
Approach: Percutaneous Endoscopic
Percutaneous Endoscopic combines a puncture through skin or mucous membrane with insertion of an endoscope to visualize the procedure internally, as in laparoscopic cholecystectomy. It is distinguished from plain Percutaneous by the presence of scope-guided visualization, and from Via Natural or Artificial Opening Endoscopic by its route being a new puncture rather than an existing orifice or stoma.
Device: Intraluminal Device, Drug-eluting, Three
This value indicates that three drug-eluting intraluminal devices were placed within a single body part in the same operative episode, most typically overlapping or sequential coronary stents. It sits between the Two and Four or More counts on the same axis, with the numeric distinction reflecting the actual quantity of devices deployed rather than any difference in device type or drug coating.
Coding & Documentation
Coders need documentation identifying the specific lower artery segment dilated, the approach used (open, percutaneous, or percutaneous endoscopic), and whether a device such as a stent or an intraluminal device was left in place, since that determines the device value appended to the code. The number of separate lesions treated in different named vessels can also affect how many codes are reported.
A common error is failing to code a separate Dilation for each distinct body part when multiple sites along the same limb are treated, since ICD-10-PCS defines body part values by specific artery segment. Another frequent mistake is omitting or misselecting the device value when a drug-eluting stent, a bare stent, or no device at all was used, since the operative note's wording on device type must be matched precisely to the code table options.