Technique for Rapid Identification and Removal of Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis Screws

Cannulated screws within the femoral neck/head often need not be removed. Identifying and removing them can be a technical struggle, in some cases requiring hip dislocation or excessive operative time.

In this article, we describe a novel technique that orthopedic surgeons can use to more effectively identify and percutaneously remove cannulated screws. Over the past 6 years, we have percutaneously removed 10 screws (from 7 patients) in an average time of 21 minutes per screw.