Skip to main content

L03.124 vs L03.2

L03.124 (Acute lymphangitis of left upper limb) compared with L03.2 (Cellulitis and acute lymphangitis of face and neck), from the official CMS tabular data.

Current data releases:ICD-10-CM FY2027 · ICD-10-PCS FY2027 · HCPCS October 2026 · MS-DRG v44 · Medicare Code Editor v44.0 · NCCI PTP Q4 2026 · MUE Q4 2026 · NCD code lists 2026-01 · LCD export September 28, 2026 · All releases and sources

Summary

These codes can be reported together when both conditions are documented, because L03.124 lists L03.2 under Excludes2, which marks them as distinct conditions.

Official rule
What is different?

The conditions named and billing status.L03.124 is “Acute lymphangitis of left upper limb”; L03.2 is “Cellulitis and acute lymphangitis of face and neck”. L03.2 is a non-billable header; L03.124 is billable.

Registry fact

Can these codes be reported together?

Yes, when both are documented.L03.124 lists L03.2 under Excludes2: “acute lymphangitis of fingers (L03.2-)”. Excludes2 marks distinct conditions that may both be reported when both are documented.

Official ruleGuide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2

Is there an Excludes2 relationship?

Yes.L03.124’s tabular entry: “acute lymphangitis of fingers (L03.2-)”. The note covers L03.2.

Official ruleGuide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2

Is one a parent or header code?

One is a header.L03.2 is a non-billable header, but L03.124 is not one of its subdivisions.

Registry fact

Nothing found in 4 other checks
Is there an Excludes1 relationship?

None.Neither entry carries an Excludes1 note that names the other code.

Official rule

Is one more specific?

No.Neither is a subdivision of the other, and neither title is the unspecified form; they describe different conditions within category L03.

Registry fact

Are there sequencing instructions?

None.Neither entry carries a Code First or Use Additional Code note that names the other.

Official rule

Are there other coding relationships?

None found.No laterality, encounter-phase, Table of Neoplasms, Table of Drugs and Chemicals, or history-versus-active-disease relationship links these codes.

MedCoder-derived

Official rule: a tabular instructional note or a section of the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, quoted as published. Registry fact: the codes’ own published attributes (titles, billable status, position in the hierarchy, code set). MedCoder-derived: a reading MedCoder computes from those facts; it is not itself a rule. How to read the labels

Can these codes be reported together?

Informational

Excludes2 relationship

L03.124
Acute lymphangitis of left upper limb
↔
L03.2
Cellulitis and acute lymphangitis of face and neck

What we found

Yes, when both are documented.L03.124 carries an Excludes2 note covering L03.2: “acute lymphangitis of fingers (L03.2-)”

Excludes2 marks distinct conditions — both may be reported when both are documented.

What to review

Report both only when the documentation supports both conditions; otherwise report the one documented.

Guide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2Check these on a claim

Why it matters

An Excludes2 note means the excluded condition is not part of the code above it, but a patient can have both. Report both when both are documented.

Source / rule

CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes

Official guidance behind these answers

  • Section I.A.12.b — Excludes2 · applies to: Excludes2

    A type 2 Excludes note represents “Not included here.” An excludes2 note indicates that the condition excluded is not part of the condition represented by the code, but a patient may have both conditions at the same time. When an Excludes2 note appears under a code, it is acceptable to use both the code and the excluded code together, when appropriate.

    ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines FY2027

Quoted from the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting in effect for the release shown. The tabular notes above are the code-level instruction; these sections are the convention that says how such a note is applied. Source document (CMS PDF) · Release and checksum

Side by side

Similar descriptions do not make codes interchangeable. The documentation and the official instructions decide which code applies.

Official descriptionDiffers
L03.124

Acute lymphangitis of left upper limb

L03.2

Cellulitis and acute lymphangitis of face and neck

StatusDiffers
L03.124
Billable
L03.2
Non-billable header

A header is not reported on a claim; a code beneath it is.

Report instead: L03.211, L03.212, L03.213, L03.221, L03.222

Excludes2Differs
Only at L03.124
  • acute lymphangitis of fingers (L03.2-)
  • acute lymphangitis of toes (L03.04-)
  • acute lymphangitis of groin (L03.324)
Only at L03.2

No note of its own beyond the shared notes

Shared by both codes (24 notes)
  • cellulitis of anal and rectal region (K61.-)
  • cellulitis of external auditory canal (H60.1)
  • cellulitis of eyelid (H00.0)
  • cellulitis of female external genital organs (N76.4)
  • cellulitis of lacrimal apparatus (H04.3)
  • cellulitis of male external genital organs (N48.2, N49.-)
  • cellulitis of mouth (K12.2)
  • cellulitis of nose (J34.0)
  • eosinophilic cellulitis [Wells] (L98.3)
  • febrile neutrophilic dermatosis [Sweet] (L98.2)
  • lymphangitis (chronic) (subacute) (I89.1)
  • hordeolum (H00.0)
  • infective dermatitis (L30.3)
  • local infections of skin classified in Chapter 1
  • lupus panniculitis (L93.2)
  • panniculitis NOS (M79.3)
  • panniculitis of neck and back (M54.0-)
  • Perlèche NOS (K13.0)
  • Perlèche due to candidiasis (B37.0)
  • Perlèche due to riboflavin deficiency (E53.0)
  • pyogenic granuloma (L98.0)
  • relapsing panniculitis [Weber-Christian] (M35.6)
  • viral warts (B07.-)
  • zoster (B02.-)
Use additional codeSame for both
  • code (B95-B97) to identify infectious agent.
CategorySame for both

L03 Cellulitis and acute lymphangitis

ChapterSame for both

L00-L99 — Diseases of the Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue (L00-L99)

No Excludes1, Code first, Code also, Includes and 7th character note at either code.

Notes are the code’s own tabular entry, quoted as published. A note that names the other code is the one the verdict above rests on. In a row that differs, each code’s own notes are listed under it, and the notes every code shares are listed once beneath them.

Edit this comparisonCheck a whole claim

Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2027). A coding-rule comparison, not billing advice: payer-specific edits and medical-necessity policy are outside its scope. All data sources