VASRD 7203 · Digestive System
Esophageal Stricture VA Disability Rating
An esophageal stricture is a narrowing of the esophagus that causes dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing. What drives the rating is not the diagnosis but what it takes to control — daily medication, how often the esophagus has to be dilated, whether a stent is placed, and at the top of the scale aspiration, undernutrition, or substantial weight loss treated with surgical correction or a PEG tube. Note (3) also rates several forms of esophagitis under this code.
VA Rating Tiers
| Rating | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 80% | Aspiration, undernutrition, or big weight loss needing surgery or a feeding tube |
| 50% | Dilation 3+ times a year, steroid dilation yearly, or an esophageal stent |
| 30% | Recurrent narrowing needing dilation no more than twice a year |
| 10% | Daily medicine controls the swallowing trouble; no other symptoms |
| 0% | Documented history, but no daily symptoms and no daily medicine |
How the VA Evaluates Esophageal Stricture
Evaluation turns on treatment burden and documented recurrence rather than on how symptoms are described. The tiers step up from a documented history with no daily symptoms, to daily medication that controls dysphagia in an otherwise asymptomatic stricture, to dilatation no more than twice a year, to dilatation three or more times a year (or steroid dilatation at least annually, or stent placement), and at the top to a stricture causing aspiration, undernutrition, or substantial weight loss as defined by § 4.112(a) that has been treated with surgical correction or a percutaneous esophago-gastrointestinal (PEG) tube. The schedule supplies its own definitions: Note (4) calls a stricture recurrent when the target esophageal diameter cannot be maintained beyond four weeks after it is reached, and Note (5) calls it refractory when that diameter cannot be achieved despite no fewer than five dilatation sessions at two-week intervals. Note (1) requires the findings to be documented by barium swallow, computerized tomography, or esophagogastroduodenoscopy.
Veterans service-connected
~2,100 veterans
Vetrify editorial estimates informed by VA published claims data (VBA Annual Benefits Report) and the VA rating schedule — not official VA statistics.
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Best Evidence to Gather
- •A barium swallow, computerized tomography scan, or esophagogastroduodenoscopy report — Note (1) requires the findings to be documented by one of these three.
- •Procedure notes for every dilatation, showing the date, whether steroids were used, whether the target esophageal diameter was reached, and how long it held.
- •Operative records for any esophageal stent placement, surgical correction, or PEG tube, along with prescription records for medication taken daily to control dysphagia.
Strategy Tips
- •Assemble the dilatation history as a dated list drawn from the procedure notes, since the 30 and 50 percent tiers are separated by how many dilatations occur in a year, whether steroids were used, and whether a stent was placed.
- •Esophageal motility disorder (DC 7204), acquired esophageal diverticulum (DC 7205), Barrett's esophagus with stricture (DC 7207), and hiatal or paraesophageal hernia (DC 7346) are all rated as esophageal stricture under this code, so these are the criteria that apply to them as well.
- •Note (2) sends non-gastrointestinal complications of a procedure to the appropriate body system, so keep those records identified separately rather than folded into this claim.
C&P Exam Pitfalls
- •Going to the examination with no barium swallow, CT, or endoscopy report in the file, since Note (1) makes one of those studies the required basis for the findings.
- •A record showing that dilatations were performed but not when, or that never states whether the target esophageal diameter was achieved and how long it held, leaving the yearly counts and the Note (4) and Note (5) definitions with nothing to apply to.
Common Filing Mistakes
- •Filing on the diagnosis alone, when the tiers are built on medication, dilatation, stent, surgery, and tube-feeding history.
- •Leaving out non-VA gastroenterology records that hold the dilatation history, and omitting weight, nutrition, or aspiration findings that the 80 percent tier names when they already exist in the treatment record.
Onset Patterns
- •Note (3) lists the routes into this code: mechanical or chemical esophagitis, Mallory Weiss syndrome from caustic ingestion of alkali or acid, drug-induced or infectious esophagitis, idiopathic eosinophilic or lymphocytic esophagitis, esophagitis due to radiation therapy, esophagitis due to peptic stricture, and any esophageal condition requiring treatment with sclerotherapy.
- •Because Notes (4) and (5) define recurrence and refractoriness by what happens after dilatation, the course that matters here is how the esophagus behaves after each treatment, not only when swallowing trouble first appeared.
Common questions about Esophageal Stricture
- Is Esophageal Stricture a VA-rated disability?
- Yes. The VA rates Esophageal Stricture under VASRD diagnostic code 7203 (Digestive System). An esophageal stricture is a narrowing of the esophagus that causes dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing. What drives the rating is not the diagnosis but what it takes to control — daily medication, how often the esophagus has t…
- What VA disability rating can I get for Esophageal Stricture?
- Possible VA ratings for Esophageal Stricture are 80%, 50%, 30%, 10%, 0%. Examples: 80%: Aspiration, undernutrition, or big weight loss needing surgery or a feeding tube; 50%: Dilation 3+ times a year, steroid dilation yearly, or an esophageal stent; 30%: Recurrent narrowing needing dilation no more than twice a year.
- What evidence helps prove Esophageal Stricture for VA disability?
- Strong evidence for a Esophageal Stricture claim includes: A barium swallow, computerized tomography scan, or esophagogastroduodenoscopy report — Note (1) requires the findings to be documented by one of these three.; Procedure notes for every dilatation, showing the date, whether steroids were used, whether the targe…
- What mistakes should veterans avoid when claiming Esophageal Stricture?
- Common pitfalls when filing for Esophageal Stricture: Filing on the diagnosis alone, when the tiers are built on medication, dilatation, stent, surgery, and tube-feeding history.; Leaving out non-VA gastroenterology records that hold the dilatation history, and omitting weight, nutrition, or aspiration findings that t…
Official sources
- 38 CFR § 4.114 — Schedule of ratings — digestive system (Diagnostic Code 7203)
Rating criteria on this page are an educational summary of the cited regulation — the eCFR text is authoritative. See how Vetrify derives its numbers.
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