Resembling a pair of scissors but instead of two blade-like parts, two arms which meet to press together instead of cut (Figure 2). Dissecting forceps (toothed) 1 Hinged forceps The most commonly used non-toothed forceps are given the eponymous name ‘Debakey’s’. Importantly, the tip of the forceps can be non-toothed (atraumatic) or toothed (traumatic).
You would use them as you would use your finger and thumb. Forceps are used to grasp and manipulate tissue as well as equipment such as needles or swabs. Dissecting forceps look like a large pair of tweezers and generally vary in size and shape (Figure 1). This is one of the instruments you are most likely to be familiar with. Dissecting forcepsĪlso known as dissectors, pick-ups, grabbers and thumb forceps. ManipulationĪs you hold and interact with objects in your hands, a surgeon may use the following instruments to interact, dissect and handle tissues or needles within the surgical field (the bit being operated on). Instruments may be used for manipulation, retraction, cutting, suturing, suction and other purposes. That being said, instruments can be categorised by their utility (or rather, what you use them for).
#Clinical instruments quiz how to#
This guide is designed to help give you a basic grounding in how to identify surgical instruments, but you will soon realise that the world of surgery is anything but standardised! It is likely that individual hospitals, scrub teams and surgeons will have different names for the same pieces of kit. You might also be interested in our surgical flashcard collection which contains over 500 flashcards that cover key surgical topics. In most cases, if you would like to use something from the tray, it is good practice to ask the scrub nurse to pass it to you rather than grabbing it yourself. This rule is part of general theatre etiquette but is also of paramount importance because the nurses need to keep track of all the instruments for their final “count” to ensure that no instruments remain unaccounted for. laparotomy set, rectal set, vascular set).īefore we get started, here is the most important learning point for this article: no matter how confident you may feel about your knowledge of surgical instruments and procedures, never mess with the scrub nurses’ tables or trays. Depending on which nurse you are scrubbed with, this could lead to anything from a polite word in your ear to a slap on the wrist or even being told to de-scrub. Depending on the operation, surgical staff may also use other trays containing more specialised instruments (e.g. There are a couple of “basic” sets containing the most commonly used instruments, which may be all that is required for something simple (e.g. In basic terms, many of these can be thought of as miniaturised versions of ‘open’ surgery instruments on the end of long handles. Though not covered in this article, there are also specific instruments for laparoscopic ‘keyhole’ surgery or robot-driven operations. This guide will discuss the instruments you are likely to encounter in ‘open’ general surgical procedures. There is an enormous number of surgical instruments out there, with many used infrequently in specialist operations. Common examples of ‘disposables’ you will see in theatre are cutting-staplers, ‘energy devices’, drains and swabs – which we will discuss later. With few exceptions, all equipment used in operations is sterile and so will be packed, therefore it must only be touched by those who are scrubbed. Some equipment is reusable (most instruments fall into this category), whilst other equipment is single-use only. You may also be interested in our eponymous surgical instruments guide or our general surgical instruments quiz.Īs with every medical procedure, specific equipment is required for each surgical operation.
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