Other fracture of shaft of left femur, sequela

This code indicates a long-term complication or residual effect stemming from a previous fracture of the shaft of the left femur, excluding specific types like comminuted, transverse, oblique, or spiral. It signifies that the acute phase of the fracture has passed, but the patient continues to experience issues directly related to the prior injury.

Apply this code when documenting conditions such as chronic pain, nonunion, malunion, limb length discrepancy, or hardware complications (e.g., irritation, infection) that are a direct consequence of an old fracture to the shaft of the left femur. This code is appropriate for follow-up encounters where the primary focus is managing these persistent sequelae.

• Always use this code as a secondary diagnosis, following the code for the specific sequela (e.g., M84.452A for malunion of left femur).
• Ensure documentation clearly links the current condition to the previous left femoral shaft fracture.
• The "S" seventh character indicates "sequela," meaning the condition is a late effect of the original injury.