Surgical Instrument Function Flashcards
Galley Pot
Used for waste during the surgery
Kidney Bowl
Filled with saline and used to hold tissues to prevent dessication
Paper Drape
Used to cover the patient, usually come in fours, more depending on procedure
Swab
Counted into the surgical field and then then counted out, usually 20/pack, more depending on procedure
Radiographic Marker
Ensures that you can see if the swab was left in the patient
Electrocautery Unit
Used for cautierising tissues and very common in the HfSA
Bipolar Cautery Unit
Cauteriser on a forcep-like unit, main unit in the HfSA, picking up tissue between the jaws focusing the electric current on the tissue, increases heat and results in coagulation/haemostasis
Unipolar Cautery Unit
Not the cauteriser used in the HfSA
Sharps Sponge
Holds stray sharps used throughout the surgery to prevent unnecessary harm to staff
Towel Clips
Designed to pinch drapes for attachment to patient, ring handled instrument, with ratchet, sharp, pincer-like ends, secures through a drape to underlying skin 12/pack
Plain
No additional pigment, standard surgical instrument of reasonable quality (but not high quality)
Gold
High quality, usually important for cutting and holding enhancement, mainly have tungsten-carbide inserts at the cutting/gripping tips (cuts smoothly and more consistently, grips enhanced with metals to make a more hard-wearing and grippy surface)
Black
Super-cutting instruments, highest quality, rare to see in regular practice, quality exceeds what is necessary. Very fine/sharp cutting surface (HfSA for cardiovascular surgery)
Mayo-Hegar Needle Holder
Ring handle, ratchet mechanism (critical), shaft, box-lock joint and very secure jaw
Box-Lock Hinge
Robust, encaged joint on needle holders where one side has been slipped through the other
Ghillie Needle Holder
No ratchet, uneven handle
Midpoint to Suture Attachment
Where to grip the needle with the needle holders
Tripod Grip
Ring finger in lower ring handle, thumb in top ring handle and index finger along the shaft of the instrument, middle finger under the shaft if you like, hold on the first knuckle
Mayo Scissors
For cutting thick tissue, sutures and fascia without damaging the scissors
Metzenbaum Scissors
Fine tips for cutting thin tissue, (fat, loose fascial planes), fine sharp dissection, or fine blunt dissection
Iris Scissors
Small with sharp, pointed tips and sharp cutting blades, heavy gauge and NOT for blunt dissection, cut suture and fine but heavy fascia (thyroid capsules)
Thumb Forceps
Broad group used for holding tissues
Pencil Grip
Standard grip of thumb forceps, wide range of motion
Palm Grip
Don’t use it, it is awkward, no fine control and it is basically useless
Dressing Forcep
Smooth tip, maybe with fine ridges, no teeth, good for holding hollow organs and as a general soft tissue forceps but require more force (crushing injury)
Rat Tooth Forcep
Has three interdigitating teeth which grasp tissue through penetration, used to hold fascia, fat and skin (not hollow organs), don’t need much force
Adson Brown Forcep
Have teeth but in two rows running parallel on each jaw, good for holding skin, minimise puncture issue while maintaining a delicate pressure
Debakey Tissue Forcep
Most delicate forceps, used extensively in the HfSA, combination of dressing and toothed forceps, three fine, interdigitating ridges running along the jaw with small indentations to give a secure grip while minimising puncturing injury
Needle-Pull Forceps
Three interdigitating ridges with indentations on the tip with a cross-hatched footplate similar to needle holders, so they can hold tissues AND needles
Bitch Spay Forcep
Large haemostatic forcep for holding on to large vascular tissue (ovarian pedicle)
Crile Haemostats
Have a series of rough, firm, transverse ridges running the length of the jaw for gripping and crushing tissues for haemostasis (come in curved and straight)
Curved Crile Haemostats
Better for picking up vessels with a tip that faces away from the tissue
Mosquito Haemostats
Small haemostats for finer use
Kelly Haemostats
Like Crile but have a gap which can be useless
Rochester Pean Forcep
Type of bitch spay forcep with longitudinal and cross hatched jaw
Allis Tissue Forcep
3-4 interdigitating aggressive teeth for firm grip on tissues, there will be permanent damage so don’t use them unless you are removing the tissue
Babcock Tissue Forceps
Open bulbous end with fine-tipped jaws for you to grip onto tissue without causing damage or pain, can be used for holding the stomach, have lots of spring
Doyen Intestinal Clamp
For holding and clamping intestine to prevent fluid moving into the surgical field, longitudinal, fine ridges along the jaw, kind to tissues, has a ratchet, but is quite springy
Gosset Retractors
Abdominal surgery of cats and small dogs, two spoons that hook onto the edges of the incision to spread it laterally, tightened with a wingnut
Balfour Retractors
Abdominal surgery of larger dogs, more complex, has two spoons for lateral retraction, there is a detachable central spoon as well to retract cranially under the xiphisternum, ratcheting mechanism for retraction
Size
Main influence on choice between retractors
Langenback Handheld Retractor
Soft tissue retractor, someone must hold them in place, mainly used in orthopaedic cases and in some soft tissue surgeries
Gelpi Handheld Retractors
Soft tissue retractor, ring handled with a ratchet (self-retaining), used during general soft tissue surgeries like thyroidectomy, used in pairs at right angles
Frazier Tip Suction
Suction of small fluid volumes during soft tissue surgery, hole in the hand-piece for decompression, for low pressure suction, higher suction can be achieved by covering the hole
Yankauer Tip Suction
Thicker tip, most rapid suction, used when lavaging a joint or for flushing large wounds
Poole Tip Suction
Metal, central wand component for fine suction and the outer fenestrated sheath, tip can be used in the chest/abdominal cavities without sucking up delicate tissues (omentum), quick suction of large fluid volumes
Periosteal Elevator (Freer)
Spatula-like ends for pushing periosteum and tissues away from the bone
Rongeur
Heavy duty with cup-shaped jaws for grasping soft tissues and pulling them off bone or nibbling bones/tissues on bones, used a lot for ear surgeries
Spay Hook
Not for spays in HfSA, run it along the body wall and then hook it at the uterine horn or ovary and pull it up for the procedure
