ICD-10 code S72.411S: Displaced condyle fracture of right femur, sequela

Key takeaways

S72.411S is a billable ICD-10-CM code for a displaced unspecified condyle fracture of the lower end of the right femur, sequela.

The code is valid for FY2026 HIPAA-covered transactions, so payers accept it on electronic claims.

The 7th character S marks a sequela encounter. Use it when you treat a condition caused by a fracture that has already healed.

Assigning S72.411A or S72.411D after the fracture has healed is the most common denial trigger for this code.

Practice management software like Pabau tracks encounter types across visits, so 7th-character errors get caught before the claim goes out.

ICD-10 code S72.411S describes a displaced unspecified condyle fracture of the lower end of the right femur, sequela. Each element of that description carries a specific coding meaning, and each one must be supported by clinical documentation before the code is assigned.

• Displaced: the fractured bone fragments have moved out of normal anatomical alignment.
• Unspecified condyle: the fracture involves a condyle of the distal femur, but the record does not say which one.
• Lower end of the right femur: the fracture sits in the condylar region of the distal femur, on the right side.
• Sequela (7th character S): the patient has a condition caused by the prior fracture. The fracture itself is no longer in active treatment.

The code is confirmed billable and valid for FY2026, per the CDC ICD-10-CM tool that mirrors official CMS tabular data. It is accepted for HIPAA-covered electronic transactions. Coders using Pabau’s claims management software can tag the encounter as a sequela visit, so billing review catches it before submission.

S72.411S code information at a glance

The table below covers the core administrative facts about ICD-10 code S72.411S. Use it as a quick reference when checking code attributes before claim submission.

What the 7th character S means

The 7th character S means the visit treats a condition left behind by a fracture that has already healed. Three encounter types govern how a fracture code is reported, per CMS ICD-10-CM guidance: initial (A), subsequent (D), and sequela (S).

The distinction between D and S is fracture status. Once the fracture is considered healed, any ongoing complaint traceable to that injury becomes a sequela.

Physical therapy practices see this constantly. Residual gait abnormality, chronic knee pain, or limited range of motion after a healed right condyle fracture all take S72.411S. Practices running physical therapy EMR workflows can flag encounter type at booking, so the D character does not carry forward past the healing phase.

All S72.411 variants by 7th character

The S72.411 root covers a displaced unspecified condyle fracture of the lower end of the right femur. It runs across every encounter type, including nonunion and malunion outcomes. Coders select the 7th character that matches the clinical picture at each visit. That character is never fixed to the chart permanently.

Nonunion (K, M, N) and malunion (P, Q, R) are distinct from sequela. Those characters still describe active subsequent encounters, where the fracture complication is the treatment focus.

Nonunion follow-up therefore takes a K, M, or N character rather than the sequela character. S is reserved for residual effects that appear after the fracture problem itself has resolved. Practices using sports medicine software can hold that rule in the encounter template, so coders are not deciding it from memory.

S72.411S in the code hierarchy

ICD-10 code S72.411S sits at the bottom of the ICD-10-CM hierarchy. Coders working from the AAPC code lookup or the official tabular list pass through every level above it.

• S00-T88 – Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (ICD-10-CM chapter)
• S70-S79 – Injuries to the hip and thigh (block)
• S72 – Fracture of femur (category)
• S72.4 – Fracture of lower end of femur (subcategory)
• S72.41 – Unspecified condyle fracture of lower end of femur (sub-subcategory)
• S72.411 – Displaced unspecified condyle fracture of lower end of right femur (code root)
• S72.411S – Sequela (billable 7th-character code)

None of the parent codes are billable on their own. A claim submitted as S72.411, without the 7th character, will reject. The complete seven-character code S72.411S is the minimum specificity payers accept.

Practices with established HIPAA compliance workflows should check that their billing system enforces 7th-character completion before submission. A hard stop at that point costs far less than a denial.

Displaced vs nondisplaced condyle fractures

The “displaced” descriptor in S72.411S reflects a documented clinical finding. Verify the fracture classification in the operative or imaging report before you assign any S72.411 code.

S72.411S still applies when imaging confirms displacement but the note omits the medial or lateral condyle. “Unspecified condyle” is the correct descriptor whenever that detail is missing from the record.

Laterality is the other trap. Using S72.412S when the injury was on the right side draws payer scrutiny, so right-side documentation has to be explicit.

Approximate synonyms and clinical terms

Clinical notes and operative reports often use terminology that differs from the ICD-10-CM tabular description. The synonyms below all map to ICD-10 code S72.411S once laterality and encounter type are confirmed.

• Sequela of displaced unspecified condyle fracture of the distal right femur
• Late effect of condyle fracture, lower end of right femur
• Residual condition following displaced right femoral condyle fracture
• Complication of displaced condyle fracture, right distal femur, sequela
• Femoral condyle fracture sequela, right side
• Sequela of right femur condylar fracture (unspecified condyle)
• Right distal femur fracture, condylar region, sequela encounter

The term “late effect” comes from ICD-9-CM and no longer appears in ICD-10-CM. It still turns up in legacy documentation.

When a chart says “late effect of femur fracture,” confirm the clinical context matches a sequela encounter first. Standardized medical forms keep clinical notes in current ICD-10-CM language, which removes that ambiguity at coding time.

Documentation requirements for S72.411S

Every component of ICD-10 code S72.411S has to be supported in the clinical documentation. Missing one element opens the claim to audit risk. The CMS ICD code lists guidance treats specificity as mandatory for billable encounters.

The ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines sequence S72.411S after the code for the nature of the sequela. The residual condition is listed first, and S72.411S supplies the causal link to the prior injury.

Practices handling orthopedic records through digital intake forms can prompt for displacement status, laterality, and sequela causation in one place. Holding the original injury note in the same medical record means a coder can check it without a records request.

Nonunion and malunion variants in the S72.411 family

Nonunion and malunion outcomes are the hardest part of the S72.411 family to code. Both are active complications of fracture healing that still need treatment. Both take subsequent-encounter characters, K through R, rather than the S character.

Nonunion (S72.411K, M, N): The fracture fragments have failed to bridge within the healing period expected for that injury. The patient still has an unstable or painful fracture site. Treatment aims at achieving union through bone grafting, revision fixation, or bone stimulation. These remain subsequent encounters with a specific complication.

Malunion (S72.411P, Q, R): The fracture has healed in a non-anatomical position that produces functional impairment. Treatment may involve corrective osteotomy. Malunion uses subsequent-encounter characters for the same reason nonunion does. The malunited fracture is the clinical problem under treatment, not a downstream residual effect.

The practical rule comes down to what the visit treats. Complications of the fracture itself take a K, M, N, P, Q, or R character. A condition left behind by a fully resolved fracture takes the S character. Knee stiffness, chronic pain, and reduced range of motion all sit in that second group.

That pattern repeats across the whole injury chapter, and codes such as S62.630K follow it in the hand. Train coders to make the call at intake, while the chart is still open.

Common coding errors to avoid

Claim denials and audit flags for S72.411S come from five patterns. Each one is preventable with a careful documentation review. Coders who have worked S82.036S will recognize the same sequela pitfalls around the knee.

• Using A instead of S for late-stage visits: Applying S72.411A to a post-acute visit months after the initial fracture treatment has ended. Initial encounter (A) is only appropriate when the patient is receiving active treatment for the fracture itself.
• Using D instead of S after fracture resolution: Continuing to assign S72.411D once the fracture is clinically healed. Once the treating provider documents fracture resolution, subsequent visits treating residual conditions shift to S.
• Omitting the sequela condition code: Coding S72.411S without a code for the specific residual condition. ICD-10-CM guidelines require the nature of the sequela to be coded first, with S72.411S sequenced after it.
• Laterality mismatch: Using S72.411S when the original fracture was on the left side. The correct codes are S72.412S for the left femur and S72.413S when the side is unspecified.
• Confusing displaced with nondisplaced: Applying S72.411S when the original injury record documents a nondisplaced condyle fracture (correct sequela code: S72.414S for the right femur).

Practices coding across many visit types benefit from patient compliance tracking that ties each encounter to a phase of fracture management. That makes 7th-character selection auditable rather than discretionary.

Related ICD-10-CM codes in the S72 family

S72.411S sits inside a wider family of femur fracture codes. Coders documenting distal femur fractures should know the adjacent codes in the S72.4 subcategory. The official ICD-10-CM files from CDC and NCHS carry the full tabular hierarchy for the S72 family.

S72.491S is the fallback for confirmed lower-end femur fractures that do not fit the condyle subcategory. S72.90XS is a last resort. Reaching for it on a specific femur injury usually signals incomplete documentation.

Fractures higher up the same bone follow the same specificity logic, as S72.041B shows. The best EMR software for orthopedic and rehab work supports structured code selection at the encounter level, so fallback codes stop appearing by default.

ICD-9-CM crosswalk for this fracture sequela

Legacy billing systems and retrospective research databases may still need an ICD-9-CM equivalent. These crosswalks are approximate rather than one-to-one maps. Use them for reference, not as a substitute for code-specific clinical review.

ICD-9-CM never matched ICD-10-CM for fracture sequela detail. Its closest equivalent, 905.4, covers every lower extremity fracture late effect. It does not distinguish laterality, displacement, or anatomical location. That is why retrospective research built on ICD-9 data reads as less precise than the same analysis on ICD-10-CM claims.

How Pabau keeps sequela coding accurate across visits

Most orthopedic and physical therapy practices carry the 7th character forward out of habit. The code that worked at the last visit gets copied into the next one, long after the fracture has healed. Nobody notices until the denial arrives.

Pabau ties the diagnosis code to the encounter record rather than to the chart as a whole. Intake forms capture displacement status and laterality at the first visit, so both are there when a coder needs them months later. Claims tools then flag encounter types that no longer match the documented fracture status.

The outcome is fewer sequela denials and less rework at month end. Every Pabau subscription includes claims management and reporting, so you can see which encounter types are costing you money.

Reduce ICD-10 coding errors across your practice

Pabau’s claims management tools track encounter types and flag 7th-character mismatches. Sequela coding stays accurate across every visit in the patient record.

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Conclusion

Everything about S72.411S turns on one question: Has the fracture healed, and does the current complaint trace back to it? Answer that in the record and the 7th character picks itself.

Get it documented once, at the first post-acute visit, and every later encounter codes itself in seconds. Leave it undocumented and each visit becomes a fresh argument with the payer.

The trade-off worth remembering is time. Capturing displacement, laterality, and the causal link takes a minute at intake, and saves hours of appeals later. Book a demo to see how Pabau keeps sequela coding accurate for orthopedic and physical therapy practices.

Continue your research

Need the sequela rules for a knee fracture? S82.036S works through patella fracture sequela and the same nature-of-sequela sequencing.

Documenting a soft tissue sequela in the thigh? S76.129S shows how the S character applies to muscle and tendon injuries.

Applying the S character outside the fracture codes? S64.31XS covers nerve injury sequela and the documentation it needs.

Need to record that active fracture treatment has ended? Patient discharge form gives you a structure for the note that closes the treatment phase.

Assessing residual function at a sequela visit? Comprehensive assessment template covers history, functional capacity, and the social factors that shape recovery.

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