Postoperative brain stroke after shoulder arthroscopy in the lateral decubitus position.

The beach chair position is used frequently for shoulder arthroscopy surgery. However, the beach chair position has been reported to be linked to postoperative cerebral stroke. The lateral decubitus position has been used as an alternative position to avoid such neurologic complications. We report a case of postoperative brain stroke in a 52-year-old man who underwent shoulder arthroscopy surgery in the lateral decubitus position. The patient experienced a brief period of intraoperative hypotension. Physicians should be aware of this potential complication that could be irrelevant to the position used.