S59.9
Unspecified injury of elbow and forearm
S59.9 is a non-billable ICD-10-CM code header for unspecified injury of elbow and forearm. Report a more specific code from it instead. It is part of the FY2027 code set, effective October 1, 2026. The more specific codes under it are S59.90 Unspecified injury of elbow and S59.91 Unspecified injury of forearm. Its coding notes include a Use additional code instruction and 7 Excludes2 entries.
7th characters
Every code below needs one of these.
The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code in subcategory S59.9
- Ainitial encounter
- Dsubsequent encounter
- Ssequela
Guidelines tips
From the FY2027 Official Guidelines. ICD10Ref adds no rules of its own.
The 7th character depends on whether the patient is in active treatment, not on who sees the patient. An aftercare Z code is not used for injury aftercare.
Each injury gets its own code unless a combination code exists, with the most serious injury first. Superficial injuries at the same site as a more severe injury are not coded. Injuries during medical care are coded as complications.
Use additional code
Add the listed code as a secondary code, if known.
Also from chapter/block level (1 note)
- code to identify any retained foreign body, if applicable (Z18.-)
Excludes2
Not included here. Both codes may be reported if the patient has both conditions.
- other and unspecified injuries of wrist and hand (S69.-)
Also from chapter/block level (6 notes)
- birth trauma (P10-P15)
- obstetric trauma (O70-O71)
Notes
Also from chapter/block level (2 notes)
- Use secondary code(s) from Chapter 20, External causes of morbidity, to indicate cause of injury. Codes within the T section that include the external cause do not require an additional external cause code
- The chapter uses the S-section for coding different types of injuries related to single body regions and the T-section to cover injuries to unspecified body regions as well as poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes.