Friday, December 20, 2019

Terminology To Know About Surgical Instruments



There are different categories of surgical instruments and knowing at least some of their names should be common knowledge. Most of these instruments provided by surgical instruments suppliers are regularly used in general surgery, but there are also others, more particular.

Surgical instruments can be categorized by their function:

Cutting instruments include:


  • scissors (trauma shears, dissecting scissor, metzenbaum scissors, tenotomy scissors, mayo scissors, bandage scissors)
  • surgical blades, knives and scalpels
  • bone cutters


Haemostatic instruments include Korcher’s Forceps, Kelly Forceps, Spencer Wellsartery forceps and Mosquito forceps, being designed to control bleeding during surgeries.    

Retractors – these are instruments holding incisions open or keeping an organ (or tissue) out of the way. They include Weitlaner, Gelpi and US Army style instruments.

Tissue unifying surgical instruments – this category include surgical needles, staplers, needle holders, clips and more.

Besides these, there are also surgical accessories including towel clamps, drills, vessel clips, binocular loupes, sutures, or biopsy punches.

 This list is not exhaustive. Today, we also have access to minimally-invasive surgery that comes with its own equipment. It is performed using an optical device and surgical instruments with a special design. The optical device allows the surgeon to operate through tiny cavities, without the need for a large cut, which makes the treatment more comfortable for the patient.