Injury of nerves at shldr/up arm, left arm, sequela

This code signifies a long-term or late-effect complication resulting from a past injury to a nerve in the left shoulder or upper arm, excluding the axillary, musculocutaneous, radial, ulnar, or median nerves. This could manifest as persistent pain, weakness, numbness, or other neurological deficits that are a direct consequence of the original trauma.

Apply this code when documenting a patient presenting with ongoing neurological symptoms in the left shoulder or upper arm that are directly attributable to a previous injury of a peripheral nerve not specifically classified elsewhere. This code is appropriate for follow-up visits after the initial acute injury has healed, but the nerve damage continues to cause problems.

• Always sequence this code after the code describing the sequela itself (e.g., pain, paralysis).
• Ensure documentation clearly links the current neurological deficit to a past injury of an unspecified nerve in the left shoulder/upper arm.
• Verify that the specific nerve involved is not one of the more common nerves (axillary, musculocutaneous, radial, ulnar, median) for which more specific codes exist.