by AceMedEd

Teach card · keep it in your scrub pocket

Total shoulder arthroplasty

Ask during the case

  1. During the deltopectoral exposure: "What's on each side of this interval, which way are we taking the cephalic vein, and which side of the conjoined tendon is safe?"
  2. Before subscapularis comes down: "Tenotomy, peel or lesser tuberosity osteotomy: what is each one, which are we doing, and what runs along the lower border of this muscle? Show me where the axillary nerve is."
  3. With the glenoid exposed: "On the CT, where was the wear and where was the head sitting? Which way is this glenoid tilted, and why does this operation need a working cuff?"

Point at: the lower border of subscapularis and the axillary nerve below it, then the posterior glenoid, while they name the wear.

End of day: "Draw me the deltopectoral layers on the axial slice, then the AP film lines." Two minutes each, no notes.

Where this kit and your technique differ, yours wins.

Send this to your students

The night before. They prep alone, redraw at turnover, and get a cold check tomorrow morning. They won't see these questions.

Open the student page

Reviewed by Mehdi “AC” Talle, D.O., November 2026. Sources: Netter, Gray's Anatomy and Hoppenfeld's surgical exposures. Teaching schematic, not to scale; anatomy and technique vary. Management and indications are left to you on purpose.