Shoulder Arthroscopy in the Beach Chair Position

Abstract

Arthroscopic shoulder surgery can be performed in both the beach chair and lateral decubitus positions. The beach chair position is a reliable, safe, and effective position to perform nearly all types of shoulder arthroscopic procedures. The advantages of the beach chair position include the ease of setup, limited brachial plexus stress, increased glenohumeral and subacromial visualization, anesthesia flexibility, and the ability to easily convert to an open procedure. This position is most commonly used for rotator cuff repair, subacromial decompression, and superior labrum anterior-to-posterior repair procedures. To perform arthroscopy surgery in the beach chair position successfully, meticulous care during patient positioning and setup must be taken. In this Technical Note, we describe the necessary steps to safely and efficiently prepare patients in the beach chair position for arthroscopic shoulder surgery.