Late effect of fracture of neck of femur

This code signifies a health problem or complication arising long after the initial healing of a fracture of the femoral neck. These late effects can manifest as chronic pain, nonunion, malunion, avascular necrosis, or degenerative arthritis, directly attributable to the original injury.

Apply this code when a patient presents with a current condition that is a sequela of a previously healed (or healing) fracture of the femoral neck. Documentation must clearly link the current complaint to the past fracture, even if the fracture itself is no longer acute.

• Always sequence this code after the definitive code for the specific late effect (e.g., M87.05 for avascular necrosis of the femoral head).
• Ensure documentation specifies "late effect" or "sequela" and clearly identifies the prior femoral neck fracture as the cause.
• Do not use for acute or subacute fractures; those require codes from the 800-829 series.