ICD-10 Code S65.301D: Right hand deep palmar arch injury
ICD-10 Code S65.301D is a billable diagnosis code for an unspecified injury of t...
Last Updated: August 17, 2026
Key takeaways
ICD-10 code S72.455S is a billable diagnosis code for the sequela of a nondisplaced supracondylar fracture of the left femur.
The 7th character ‘S’ marks a late effect of a healed fracture, not an initial (A) or subsequent (D) treatment encounter.
Sequence S72.455S second, after the code for the residual condition the patient presents with today.
Accurate coding needs documented laterality, displacement status, anatomical site, and confirmation that active treatment is complete.
Practice management software like Pabau helps orthopedic and physical therapy practices capture those details in the clinical record.
ICD-10 code S72.455S is a billable diagnosis code for a nondisplaced supracondylar fracture of the lower end of the left femur, sequela. The full official descriptor is: Nondisplaced supracondylar fracture without intracondylar extension of lower end of left femur, sequela.
The 7th character ‘S’ is what separates this code from the rest of the S72.455 family. It tells the payer that the patient’s current problem is a late effect of a healed fracture, not an active repair.
Per the CMS ICD-10-CM coding resources, S72.455S is valid for submission to Medicare, Medicaid, and most commercial payers in FY2026.
Code details at a glance
The 7th character ‘S’: What a sequela encounter means
The 7th character is the most consequential digit in any S72 fracture code. Get it wrong and a healed fracture’s late effects are billed as active treatment. Payers read that as overcoding.
Per the CDC/NCHS ICD-10-CM official tool, the three episode-of-care characters for S72 codes are:
What “sequela” means in practice: The fracture has been treated and the healing phase is over. The patient now presents with a residual condition caused by that fracture, such as chronic pain, stiffness, malunion, or nonunion. Today’s visit addresses that residual condition, not the original fracture.
ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines Section I.C.19.a put the sequela code second. The code for the nature of the sequela, meaning the condition the patient presents with today, is listed first. Reversing the pair changes what the claim says the visit was for.
Full S72.455 code family: All 7th character variants
S72.455 covers nondisplaced supracondylar fractures of the lower end of the left femur across every episode type. Coders check the adjacent variants before billing, and a medical coding cheat sheet speeds that lookup. The table below lists the whole family.
Malunion and nonunion during active treatment use D-family characters. S72.455S applies only once treatment is complete and the patient presents with a residual late effect. The AAPC ICD-10-CM code lookup carries the complete variant listing with inclusion notes.
Pro Tip
When sequencing S72.455S, list the nature of the sequela first. A patient with chronic left knee pain from the prior fracture gets M25.562 first, then S72.455S. Reversing the order misrepresents the reason for the visit and can trigger a claim edit.
Anatomy: Where a supracondylar fracture sits in the distal femur
The supracondylar region sits at the distal end of the femur, just above the femoral condyles. Fractures here occur in the metaphyseal flare. That is the transition zone between the femoral shaft and the wider condylar block.
Three anatomical descriptors govern code selection in the S72.4xx family:
- Location: Lower end of femur (distal femur). S72.4xx is reserved for this region, and shaft fractures use S72.3xx codes.
- Displacement: Nondisplaced means the fracture fragments remain anatomically aligned. Displaced fractures of the same site use S72.451 to S72.453, with S72.452 for the left side.
- Laterality: S72.455 specifies the left femur. The right-sided equivalent is S72.454, and unspecified femur is S72.456.
Supracondylar fractures usually follow high-energy trauma in younger patients or low-energy falls in osteoporotic older patients. The nondisplaced variant often allows conservative management. Sequela coding in this family therefore tends to involve functional limitation rather than malunion.
When to use ICD-10 code S72.455S: Clinical scenarios
S72.455S applies when three conditions are simultaneously true. Missing any one of them means a different code applies.
- The fracture treatment is complete. The patient has left the active treatment and routine healing phases. Using S72.455S during cast management or post-operative fracture follow-up is a coding error.
- The patient presents with a residual condition caused by the prior fracture. That could be chronic pain, range-of-motion limitation, muscle weakness, scar tissue adhesion, or corrective surgery for malunion. The residual condition is the reason for today’s visit.
- All other descriptors match: The original fracture was nondisplaced, at the supracondylar region without intracondylar extension, at the lower end of the left femur.
If the prior fracture was on the right side, use S72.454S. If it was displaced, use S72.452S for the left side. If the fracture extended into the condyle, the sequela sits in the S72.46x family instead.
Documentation requirements for accurate sequela coding
The medical record must support every descriptor embedded in ICD-10 code S72.455S. Auditors checking sequela claims look for four elements, and all four must be present before the code goes out.
- Fracture type confirmed: A prior nondisplaced supracondylar fracture of the lower end of the left femur. Record it in the clinical history or reference prior imaging.
- Active treatment complete: A note or prior record confirming the healing phase has ended. Without it, payers may reclassify the visit as a subsequent encounter.
- Nature of sequela defined: The current presenting condition, such as pain, stiffness, or functional deficit, documented and coded first, before S72.455S.
- Laterality explicit: The record must state “left” or “left femur.” A generic reference to “femur fracture” cannot support a laterality-specific code.
Orthopedic and rehabilitation practices using structured clinical record keeping can pre-build templates that prompt for all four elements at every sequela visit. Standard SOAP note formats already separate the fracture history from the current complaint, which is where the two-code pair comes from.
Open fracture classification and malunion context
The S72.455 family includes several 7th characters tied to the Gustilo open fracture classification. That grading system describes soft-tissue injury severity at initial and subsequent encounters, and it drives the same character choices in codes like S82.251E. Knowing the grades helps you trace a patient’s episode history when the sequela follows an open fracture.
Malunion and nonunion during the healing phase are coded as subsequent encounters. Closed malunion takes the P character. Open type IIIA/B/C malunion takes the R character. Once those conditions persist after active treatment ends, the sequela character applies instead. The same logic runs through the rest of the fracture chapter, as S42.302K shows for a humeral nonunion.
The phase also changes the procedure code. Corrective surgery on an established malunion starts a new episode of care. That holds whether the procedure is a distal femur plate or a humeral osteotomy under CPT 24410.
Related ICD-10 codes for distal femur fracture sequela
Coders working with S72.455S regularly need the adjacent codes below. They cover the contralateral limb, a different displacement status, or a different location within the distal femur.
Verify current code validity against the WHO ICD-10 browser or the CDC/NCHS tabular list before submitting claims for adjacent codes in this family.
Commonly paired CPT codes for sequela visits
ICD-10 code S72.455S pairs with CPT codes for the service that addresses the sequela, not the original fracture repair. Which code applies depends on what the provider delivers at that visit.
Practices running orthopedic sequela workflows in physical therapy EMR software or sports medicine systems can pre-build treatment note templates for each visit type. Those templates carry the expected ICD-10 and CPT pairings, which cuts the manual cross-referencing behind most wrong CPT selections.
Common coding errors with femur fracture sequela codes
Sequela coding for the S72.4xx family produces a predictable set of errors. Catching them before submission keeps the claim out of the rework queue and protects the practice’s revenue cycle.
- Using D instead of S for post-treatment visits: Once the fracture is healed, the subsequent-encounter character no longer applies. Coding D for visits that address residual deficits misrepresents the episode and invites a post-payment audit.
- Missing the sequela sequencing rule: S72.455S is listed after the code for the nature of the sequela, never first. Listing it first implies the fracture itself is the chief complaint.
- Omitting laterality: Submitting S72.456S when the record documents a left-sided fracture is a specificity error. Payers increasingly auto-reject unspecified codes that a specific code could replace.
- Confusing supracondylar with and without intracondylar extension: S72.455S specifies without intracondylar extension. If the original fracture extended into the femoral condyle, the sequela code falls under S72.46xS.
- Applying S72.455S to an active fracture repair visit: Corrective surgery for a malunion is a new active treatment episode. That visit takes an initial-encounter character, not the sequela character.
How Pabau supports accurate ICD-10 coding in practice
Getting ICD-10 code S72.455S right depends on documentation quality upstream of billing. Coders can only assign what clinicians record. Fracture history, laterality, and episode status are all decided at the point of care, not at the billing desk.
Practice management software like Pabau connects those two ends. Its claims management software keeps fracture history, episode-of-care context, and the sequela condition in the same client record. The coder then sees what the clinician saw.
For multi-visit sequela cases, digital intake forms collect prior fracture details, surgery dates, and laterality at registration. That gives the coder a documented basis for the S character before the clinician writes the note.
Moving from paper charts to clinical documentation software also makes prior fracture history searchable across a multi-provider orthopedic team. Everyone codes from the same record, which matters when the sequela visit lands years after the injury.
Accurate ICD-10 coding starts with accurate clinical records
Pabau helps orthopedic, physical therapy, and sports medicine practices build documentation workflows that support precise diagnosis coding, from sequela encounters to multi-code claims.
Conclusion
Sequela coding for distal femur fractures rewards one habit above all others. Confirm in writing that active treatment has finished before you reach for the S character. Everything else about S72.455S follows from that single check.
Five descriptors sit behind this code: Nondisplaced, supracondylar, lower end, left femur, sequela. Each one has to be visible in the record, and the residual condition still gets listed first on the claim.
Build those prompts into the visit template rather than the billing review, and the correction happens while the patient is still in the room. Book a demo to see how Pabau supports orthopedic and rehabilitation coding workflows.
Continue your research
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Frequently asked questions
What does ICD-10 code S72.455S mean?
ICD-10 code S72.455S is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code describing a nondisplaced supracondylar fracture of the lower end of the left femur, sequela. The sequela designation means the patient presents with a late effect of a prior fracture, not an active fracture management episode.
Is S72.455S a billable ICD-10 code?
Yes, S72.455S is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code valid for FY2026 claim submission to Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial payers. It is also exempt from Present on Admission reporting, because sequela codes relate to conditions that arose during prior encounters.
What is the 7th character ‘S’ in ICD-10 fracture codes?
The 7th character ‘S’ designates a sequela encounter. It covers a visit for a residual condition that follows a prior fracture. Chronic pain, stiffness, and functional limitation all qualify once active treatment is complete. It differs from ‘A’ for the initial encounter and ‘D’ for the routine healing phase.
How does S72.455S differ from S72.455A and S72.455D?
S72.455A applies during the initial active treatment phase for a closed fracture. S72.455D applies during routine follow-up while the fracture is still healing. S72.455S applies only after treatment is complete and the patient presents with a residual late effect. Using the wrong character is a coding error payers frequently flag.
What documentation is required to code S72.455S?
The medical record must document a prior nondisplaced supracondylar fracture of the lower end of the left femur. It also needs confirmation that active treatment is complete, the nature of the current sequela condition, and explicit left laterality. The sequela code is sequenced after the code for the nature of the sequela.
What CPT codes are used with S72.455S?
Common pairings depend on the service provided. They include 99213-99215 for evaluation and management visits and 97110 for therapeutic exercises. Imaging uses 73721 for an MRI of the knee, and 27511 covers open treatment of a supracondylar femur fracture. The CPT code reflects the service rendered at the sequela visit.
