Common surgical instruments Flashcards
Describe the composition of surgical instruments
Stainless steel:
- most common type
- strong
- resistant to corrosion
- matt or mirrored finish
- may have tungsten carbide implants (strong & used as blades or for gripping, usually have gold handles)
Chromium-plated carbon steel:
- cheaper
- prone to corrosion & pitting
Titanium:
- light weight
- used to handle delicate tissues
- reduced glare from operating lights
What instrument is this
Scalpel
Describe scalpels
- main instrument for cutting skin (poor practice to cut with scissors (involves tissue crushing))
- Blades placed on a handle (Baird Parker no.3 is most common)
- ideally placed on handle using surgical instrument rather than fingers
Describe some common scalpel blades
- no. 10 is most common cutting edge with large convex surface
- no. 11 used for stab incisions into hollow viscera such as bladder or stomach
- no. 15 is more delicate with smaller convex cutting edge, used for more precise cuts such as urethrostomies
How should a scalpel be held
- Pen hold grip allowing a stable & accurate cut to be made in tissues
- Power grip allowing thicker & tougher tissues to be cut
Name these different scissors
Describe scissors
- many different forms
- used to cut tissue in highly controlled manner
- can have tungsten carbide implants for extra toughness & sharpness
- not designed to be used on skin
- can be used to bluntly dissect through tissue by inserting blades when closed into tissue plane & then opening them
Describe types of scissors
Mayo:
- heavy duty
- designed for cutting tough tissues such as linea alba
Metzenbaum:
- delicate
- for use in subcutaneous tissues & viscera
- straight or curved (curved allows for better visualisation of tissue being dissected
Suture:
- cut sutures
- blunt ended top blade means they are less likely to cut tissues when cutting sutures
Iris:
- 2 sharp tips
- used when fine cuts are required (e.g. during feline urethrostomy)
Describe scissor grips
How can scissors be held when not in use
Describe needle holders
- Many have ratchet mechanism allowing surgical needle to be held by needle holder
- most common in vet med: Mayo Hegar, Olsen Hegar, Gillie
- Jaws of needle may have tungsten carbide inserts for better needle grip & durability
Name the needle holders
What is this and what is its use
Treves rat toothed forceps
- heavy duty
- single tooth interdigitating with 2 on opposing tip
- can be traumatic to tissues
What is this and what is its use
Dressing forceps
- for applying dressings
- no ‘rat-teeth’
- traumatic to tissues as pressure is needed if used for this purpose
What is this and what is its use
Adson rat-tooth forceps
- fine forceps with small rat tooth grip
What is this and what is its use
Debakey forceps
- have longitudinal & transverse serrations
- Originally designed for vascular use as they are least traumatic
What is the grip for thumb forceps
Name the different haemostatic forceps
Describe different types of tissue forceps
Allis:
- relatively traumatic
- should not be applied to skin
Babcock:
- triangular shape at the end with long longitudinal striations
- less traumatic but have tendency to slip
Doyen:
- used to manipulate bowel
- atraumatic
Name the different tissue forceps
Name the self-retaining retractors
Name the self-retaining retractors
Name the handheld retractors
Name the towel clamps
