Table 1.

Key Points

• Good preoperative radiographs are necessary to ensure that the appropriate number of screws are removed from the plate.

• Precise portal placement is critical in terms of minimizing the number of portals necessary to remove all screws.

• Several screws may be removed from a single portal by abducting and adducting the arm to achieve the appropriate axis on the driver-screw complex.

• Intraoperative fluoroscopy should be used as needed to aid in portal localization and to confirm screw and plate removal.

• Meticulous care must be taken around the motor branch of the axillary nerve and the posterior humeral circumflex artery with a low threshold to convert to an open procedure should visualization of these neurovascular structures be limited.