Instrument Project

Used for holding and manipulating delicate tissues. They have a wide, flat thumb grasp area that is commonly striated in one direction. The jaws are short and the tips are narrow. This product is straight with smooth edges, and a length usually of 4-3/4 inches.

Primarily used for suture removal. These scissors have a small hook shaped tip on one blade that slides under sutures to slightly lift them before cutting the sutures. This hook also holds the suture so it does not slip off the blade of the scissors prior to cutting. Most commonly available in the length of 5-1/2 inches. This product is straight with smooth, both blunt tips.

Ringed locking instrument for clamping tissue. Small curved jaws have zig-zag teeth at the tip. Forceps securely grasp tissue but cause significant tissue crushing and are therefore considered to be “traumatic forceps” and should be used only on tissues that are being removed from the patient (tumors, damaged bowel, etc.) May also be used to secure patient drapes and instrument cords.

Scissors for cutting bandage material. Blades bent for cutting at an angle. Top blade is a regular blunt. Bottom blade has a fat triangular blunt end to facilitate sliding under a bandage without catching the skin.

AKA needle drivers. Ringed locking needle holder with no-slip surface at the active end and built-in scissors on half of working end nearest to the pivot. Designed to hold suture needles and pass them through tissue in order to perform suture ties. Because of ratcheted locking device, needle can be held without falling out or twisting. Increases surgical speed as the surgeon can work without assistance by cutting her own suture material. Be careful as sutures can be inadvertently cut.

Handheld instrument used to firmly grasp IM (intramedullary) pins into bone in orthopedic procedures. IM pin held through a gear based locking tightening mechanism.

This instrument is used to retrieve the uterine horn from within a small animal. This instrument allows the surgeon to make a small incision, the length needed for a finger to fit into. A smaller incision makes it possible for a minimal tissue exposure to contaminates that are circulating around the surgical suite and a decreased possibility for tissue infection. This instrument is 8 inches long and has a flat, rounded hook at the end. This instrument has a common name of “Snook Hook” and “Spay Hook”.

This instrument is used to cut thicker stainless steel wire, which is commonly used in orthopedic surgical procedures. These wire cutter scissors have short, compact, plain straight-edge blades. These blades hold the wire in place, giving the instrument the ability to increase additional pressure to cut heavier gauge wire without slipping or crimping the wire. The blades may be angled or straight. The length of the instrument itself is usually 4 ¾ inches.

This instrument is used to attach towels and drapes to the skin of the patient while a medical procedure is being performed. These instruments have pointed tips that curve and join together and handles which have a lock in them. They keep the draping in place which ensures that the surgical site is kept sterile at all times.

Ophthalmic instrument now used for detailed dissection and other precise operations, due to their petite structure and diverse blade configuration. It is also used to cut fine sutures and other non-viable materials. They come in standard scissor design or spring handled design and although their blades are fine and short, their tips look much like those of the operating scissors.

This instrument is used to occlude vessels,like small uterine horns or small to medium sized blood vessels.They contain transverse grooves that extend the entire length of the jaws. One of the most commonly used large hemostats in surgical packs for dogs and cats.

This instrument is used to cut wire sutures. Wire Cutting Scissors are non-ratcheted, finger ring scissors used for cutting sutures in preparation for removal. This product has straight shanks with angled, serrated jaws, and blunt tips. A jaw may include a notch to facilitate rapid pick-up and cutting

These are used to grasp skin and other dense tissues, usually for placing suture. This instrument consists of two tines that are connected at one end and are designed to remain open if pressure is not applied by fingers to close the tines. At the tip of these forceps they have large sharp teeth; one tooth fits in between two teeth on the opposite tine, and they have straight shanks that can be serrated or fluted and the lengths vary from 4 ½ to 12 inches. Teeth arrangements include 1x2, 2x3, 3x4, and 4x5 teeth. These forceps can also have extra-fine tips.

This instrument is used to grasp tissue bundles and large vessels, most commonly in orthopedic or large animal surgery. It has curved or straight jaws; whole length of jaw is horizontally serrated; with 1x2 teeth on the tips.

This instrument is used to hold bone and bone fragments in alignment while orthopedic implants (screws, pins, wires, or plates) are applied. It gives a very firm controllable grip on long bones, facilitating manipulation and reduction of fragments.
Its handle can be ratcheted or plain with plier handle that curves slightly outward at the bottom for additional grip and control. Both inner tips of the jaws are serrated with 2x2 teeth on the distal ends.

Tissue forceps used to pick up, hold and maneuver delicate tissues. They have multiple intermeshing teeth with a broad tip to provide good tissue and suture needle handling for most routine suturing and wound/incisional closures. These forceps have a wide, flat thumb grasp area that is commonly serrated. The jaws are short and the tips are narrow with multiple fine interlocking teeth

Hemostatic forceps designed to clamp small vessels that must be occluded, crushed or held firmly in place. They are generally equal to or less than 5 ½ inches long with transverse grooves on the entire jaw with a fine tip. The forceps have a self-locking ratchet mechanism. The jaws can be curved or straight.

Metzenbaum scissors are fine scissors used for cutting soft tissue and for blunt dissection. They come in curved and straight, with rounded tips and usually have plain blades. They can be anywhere from 5-11” long, but the most common length is 7 inches. These scissors should never be used to cut suture or bandaging material as it can dull or damage the blades.

Used to scrape hard tissue, such as cartilage or bone. Commonly used in arthroscopic surgery to debride joint surfaces or to dislodge loose, bony fragments within joints. Often also used to retrieve cancellous bone from the medullary cavity for use as a bone graft for fracture repair. Has a large, lightweight, hollow handle with longitudinal grooves and a thumb/finger rest for increased control. Designed with a small, cup-like structure at one or both ends of the instrument. The cup usually has a sharp cutting edge and is available in various sizes.

This instrument is used to twist surgical wire or stainless steel sutures. They usually consist of cross- serrated working surface that can firmly hold the wire and the ratchet locks the jaws into place so that the wire can be twisted and usually have a square blunt head. The wire twister can also come in combination with a shear cutter. Some wire twisters have holes in the jaws to thread the wire thru for a secure grip

Used to stop bleeding by crushing tissues and associated blood vessels. The working ends (aka jaws) have transverse grooves on the distal-most aspect. Jaws can be straight or curved.

Large, crushing forceps used for clamping across large tissue masses with associated blood vessels. The working ends (aka jaws) have longitudinal grooves with cross-hatch grooves at the tip, which provide more traction. Jaws can be straight or curved.

Veterinary bone cutters are scissor-like metal surgical instruments used for cutting and removing bones. They are usually spring loaded so as to open back up on their own. They have paired, chisel-like tips and come in a variety of sizes for working with different sized bones.

An external fixator (Ex Fix) is a metal surgical device used to stabilize bones without disrupting the fracture site and are used for fracture stabilization, arthrodesis, and angular limb deformity correction in dogs and cats. They come in many different configurations, but they generally consist of pins placed through the skin and into the bone, and external metal bars which the pins are attached to with the use of special clamps.

Babcock forceps are similar in shape to Allis tissue forceps but are less traumatic for tissues at the expense of reduced tissue security. They have a smooth grasping surface, which is less traumatic to tissues. They also have less tip compression than other forceps. These forceps are particularly useful for grasping tube-shaped structures like the intestines due to the rounded grasping surface.

Double-action Rongeurs are used to cut and remove dense bone tissue. The working end is rounded at the tip with sharp and scooped jaws that are available in 3 varieties; straight(standard curved), slightly curved, and angular(also called duckbill). This instrument is double hinged which increases mechanical strength thus reducing hand fatigue and the amount of time it takes to cut through bone. The handles are plier style, spring loaded and come in two lengths, regular and extra-long.

Hohmann retractors are a type of hand held retractor used for orthopedic surgeries. They are typically used for joint surgeries to hold soft tissue out of the way for better visibility of the joint. Their design consists of a single blade at the end of a handle; the blade can be pointed or blunt. The handles come in various lengths(standard; deep) and angles (standard; bent; double bent)

Interlocking nails are used to reduce fractures; they are placed into the medullary cavity of long bones and secured with screws at the proximal and distal ends. These nails vary in thickness, length, and number of preplaced screw holes. The shape of the nail depends on the bone it is intended for. Each nail has a numerical code (shown in bottom right photo) which describes their size and and the size of screw required. From left to right the numbers specify distance between screw holes(mm), diameter of nail(mm), length of nail(mm), number of proximal screw holes, number of distal screw holes, and the size of screw needed.

The Balfour retractor provides increased exposure of the abdominal cavity. Two wire-like blades are used to distract the abdominal incision and the solid spoon-like blade is hooked onto the sternum to distract it cranially. This retractor holds itself in place, leaving the surgeon and assistant’s hands to focus on the surgical tasks. They come in different sizes, and are made of surgical steel that can withstand autoclaving and can be reused. It is important to ensure that no abdominal contents (ex. Bowel, spleen) are entrapped between the body wall and the retractor during placement.

DeBakey thumb forceps have long narrow tips with multiple delicate sets of teeth and are used for vascular surgery. They are used to grasp fine tissue and blood vessels for soft tissue dissection, and are relatively atraumatic. These forceps are available in multiple lengths, straight or angled, and come in a variety of tip dimensions.

Kerrison Rongeurs are very useful in spinal surgery They have sharp cupped tips that are used to cut small pieces of dense tissue (eg: bone, cartilage, fibrous tissue). Kerrison Rongeurs have a “gun shaped appearance”; a plier style, spring loaded handle attaches at roughly a ninety degree angle to the shaft of the working end. The tip has an upward square curve, like a square “C.”

Kirschner wires (aka”K- Wires”) are used to pin smaller bone fragments. They range from 0.035in, 0.045in, 0.062in in diameter and are similar to Steinmann’s Pins, but smaller. They are smooth and stainless steel. There are different types of tips: chiseled, trocar, or threaded trocar tip. Threads can be located in the middle as well; threads can have a positive or negative profile. K-wires are often inserted into the bone using a power drill or Jacobs hand chuck.