Surgical instruments

From ArticleWorld

Surgical instruments are a broad category of tools and equipment used in surgical procedures. Many surgical instruments are intended for use inside the body tissues and must be sterilized before use. Surgical instruments can be washed and re-sterilized or can be disposable.

Types

Basic metal surgical instruments include forceps and other tissue graspers such as Kelly forceps and sponge forceps that grasp a piece of sponge to blot excessive blood. Clamps are like forceps but are made with locking devices that can block off blood vessels or clamp onto pieces of tissue during surgery. Retractors can spread open skin and soft tissue. They can be handheld devices that a surgical assistant uses or devices placed directly on the skin and ratcheted to hold open large surgical fields. Probes can be inserted into orifices that cannot be directly observed.

Cutting equipment includes various kinds of scalpels, drill bits or hollow devices called trocars that are sharp on one end for carving bone or other tissue. Some scalpels are connected to a power source so that they can cauterize tissue while cutting it at the same time. Separate tweezer-like cauterizers will cauterize blood vessels and stop the flow of bleeding by grasping the tissue with the cauterizing device.

Suctioning catheters are attached to suction machines and are of different sizes. Some are completely enclosed and others have holes in them to collect large volumes of fluid. Blood and amniotic fluid collections are suctioned via these catheters.

Scopes, such as endoscopes or laparoscopes, can be used in surgery as well. Laparoscopic removal of the gallbladder, laparoscopic surgery on the esophagus (called a laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication) and other surgical procedures are being used with laparoscopy.

Dilators and speculae are used whenever the space is too narrow to work in and dilation is necessary. Measurement devices can be considered surgical instruments if sterilized and used in surgery. Lasers or ultrasound tissue disrupters are increasingly being used in surgical procedures as well.