1. Basic Surgical Instruments
Feb./07

2. The Basic Surgical Instruments:
Cutting
Grasping
Retracting
Suturing
Miscellaneous

3. A. Cutting Instruments:
Knife (Scalpel)
Scissors
A. Knife:
1. Bard Parker Handle
# 3
Narrow nose, length 5 inches.
To hold # 10, 11, 12 & 15.
# 7
Narrow nose, length 6 ½ inches.
# 9
Narrow nose, length 4 ½ inches
# 4
Narrow nose, length 5½ inches
To hold # 20 & 21.

5. 2. Blades
# 10
Small
General dissecting.
# 11
Stab incision.
# 12
Tonsil dissection.
# 15
Plastic dissection (reconstruction)
# 20
Large
Skin incision

6. b. Scissors
1. Metzenbaum
Thin, 7 in. curved.
To cut delicate tissue, peritoneum
2. Mayo curved
3. Mayo Straight

7. 4. One point sharp
5. Wire
6. Liston, bandage

8. B. GRASPING: Any instrument used to grasp tissue for the
purpose of clamping or holding.
a. Hemostats
A hinge, crushing instrument with a locking device on the handles, which holds the jaws, when closed.
To arrest the flow of blood.
1. Mosquito
5 in., curved 5 in. straight.
2. Crile
5 ½, curved.
3. Straight
forceps
6 ¼, straight.
4. Kelly
6 ¼, curved.

9. b. Babcock
forceps
Smooth jaws, fenestrated oval tips with longitudinal serrations.
6 ¼, 7 ¾ in. long.
To grasp delicate tissues; appendix.
c. Allis
Smooth jaws with 4 x 5 fine teeth at tips, 6 in long.
To grasp heavy tissue, abdominal muscles.
d. Kocker
forceps
Cross serrations;
1 x 2 heavy teeth at tip of jaws; 5 ½ in, 6 ½ in, 7 ¼ in straight and curved.
To grasp heavy tissue, abdominal muscles.

10. e. Dressing
forceps
Serrations 5 ½ and 10 inches.
To grasp delicate tissues while they are being sutures, dissected or excised.
f. Tissue
1 x 2 teeth at tip of jaws, 5 ½ and 10 inches.
To grasp heavy tissues while they are being sutured, dissected or excised.
g. Adson’s
4 ½, 1 x 2 fine teeth at the tip of jaws.
To grasp very delicate tissues, nerve, or blood vessel for suturing, dissecting or excising.

11. h. Sponge
forceps
9 ½ in, straight and curved.
To hold sponges or grasp tissue, transfer forceps.
i. Towel clip
3 ½ in and 5 ½ and 10 inches.
To hold drapes in place to retract tissues.

12. C. RETRACTING: any instrument used to
hold open the edges of a
wound.
Cushing
vein
Single-bladed 8 ½ in. long.
For shallow retractions.
b. Volkman
4 prongs sharp or dull, 8 ½ in. long.
c. Army-
navy
Double-ended, 8 ½ in. long.
d. Richardson
Double-ended, small & large
9 ½ in. long.
To retract abdominal wall and organs.

13. e. Ribbon
Flexible, two widths; narrow 1 ½ in wide – 2 in., 1 2inches long.
To retract abdominal wall and organs.
f. Deaver
Three widths, narrow, medium 1 ½, wide – 2 in., 12 in long.
g. Weithlaner
Self-retaining; 2 blades and bladder blades.
For shallow retractions.

14. h. Balfour
Self-retaining;
2 blades and bladder blades.
For abdominal wall retractions.
i. Hupp tracheal
Three sharp prongs, blunt hook, overall length 5 ¼ in.
To retract trachea or other shallow wounds.

15. IV. SUTURING: any instrument used to carry suture
through tissue.
a. Needle
holder
6 and 7 in. long.
To hold suture needle for suturing wounds.
b. Clip applier
and remover
5 ½, 6, and 7 in. long.
To introduce and remove skin clips.

17. E. PROBING: any instrument with a blunt end used to
probe a cavity.
a. Probe
Flexible, 5 in., and 8 in.
b. Grooved
director
Grooved on long axis, 5 ½ in.
To probe a cavity, to guide a probe; to control the pathway of an incision.

18. F. MISCELLANEOUS
a. Poole suction
tip
Fenestrated removable tip 9 in long and ¼ in diameter.
To remove fluid from abdominal cavity.
b. Yankauer
suction tip
Angular, removable tip 9 in long and ¼ in diameter.
To withdraw fluid from throat cavity.
c. Laparotomy
ring
Circular, 1 ½ in diameter.
For tagging sponges.