Surgical instruments

Artery forceps and clamps

Three models cover most needs. Pean has smooth, cross-serrated jaws without teeth and comes in 14, 16 and 18 cm — the workhorse clamp that also serves as a tubing clamp. Kocher looks the same but has 1x2 teeth at the tip and does not let go of tougher tissue as easily. Mosquito is the small, fine model at 12 cm, straight or curved, for confined fields. All three lock with a ratchet handle with several positions, so the grip can be adjusted.

Needle holders — and needle drivers

The two words mean the same thing and catalogues use both. Mayo-Hegar is the standard model with ring handles and broad jaws. Olsen-Hegar has built-in scissors behind the jaws, so needle driving and cutting the suture are done with one and the same instrument. Crile-Wood is slimmer and intended for finer suture material, and Mathieu has a curved handle where the ratchet locks and opens by squeezing the grip. The full range can be found under needle holders.

Scissors — three tasks, three models

Metzenbaum is the long, narrow-bladed dissecting scissors in 14, 23 and 28 cm. Iris is the short, sharp scissors at 11 cm for fine work, and Spencer stitch scissors has a hook in the lower blade that goes under the stitch. The surgical scissors come straight or curved, with sharp or blunt blades in various combinations. For dressings there are Lister scissors, the bandage scissors with an angled, blunt lower blade. See scissors and bandage scissors.

Forceps

Toothless anatomical forceps — in catalogues called dressing forceps — grip swabs, tape and materials. Surgical tissue forceps have 1x2 teeth and hold tissue with light pressure instead of crushing it. DeBakey has finely serrated jaws without teeth and grips gently. The long models with ratchet — Maier dressing forceps, Foerster sponge-holding forceps and Magill catheter forceps — are made to reach deep. See forceps.

Ear, nose and examination

Hartmann nasal speculum, Lucae bayonet-shaped ear forceps, Troeltsch ear and nasal forceps, ear hooks in Roser and Day models, Billeau ear loop and an aluminium ear irrigation cup. The instruments complement the ranges in examination equipment and penlights.

Measuring, probing and special instruments

Pulse watches with a 15- or 30-second scale and 1.5-metre tape measures are among the things that get left in pockets and lost — they are cheap enough to have several of. The grooved director is a probe with a longitudinal groove in the shaft, and Buck and Quire are the fine instruments for foreign bodies. Schroeder-Pozzi tenaculum forceps are available for the gynaecological set.

Scalpel handles, storage and care

Scalpel handle no. 3 takes the smaller blades and no. 4 the larger ones — the handle is reusable, the blade is not. Michel clip forceps and Collin clip remover belong with the skin clips, and the safety scalpel from Medi-Safe is intended for suture removal. Instrument boxes, a storage jar and kidney dishes keep the set together between uses. Most of the instruments are made of stainless steel and withstand repeated cleaning; follow the manufacturer's instructions and your own routine for disinfection and sterilisation.