Surgical instrument

A surgical instrument is a specially designed tool or device for performing specific actions of carrying out desired effects during a surgery or operation, such as modifying biological tissue, or to provide access for viewing it. Over time, many different kinds of surgical instruments and tools have been invented. Some surgical instruments are designed for general use in surgery, while others are designed for a specific procedure or surgery. Accordingly, the nomenclature of surgical instruments follows certain patterns, such as a description of the action it performs (for example, scalpel, hemostat), the name of its inventor(s) (for example, the Kocher forceps),^[1] or a compound scientific name related to the kind of surgery (for example, a tracheotome is a tool used to perform a tracheotomy).

The expression surgical instrumentation is somewhat interchangeably used with surgical instruments,^[2] but its meaning in medical jargon is really the activity of providing assistance to a surgeon with the proper handling of surgical instruments during an operation, by a specialized professional, usually a surgical technologist or sometimes a nurse or radiographer.

Classification

There are several classes of surgical instruments:

Graspers,^[3] such as forceps
Clamps and occluders for blood vessels and other organs
Retractors, used to spread open skin, ribs and other tissue
Distractors, positioners and stereotactic devices
Mechanical cutters (scalpels, lancets, drill bits, rasps, trocars, Ligasure, Harmonic scalpel, surgical scissors, rongeurs etc.)
Dilators and specula, for access to narrow passages or incisions
Suction tips and tubes, for removal of bodily fluids
Sealing devices, such as surgical staplers
Irrigation and injection needles, tips and tubes, for introducing fluid
Powered devices, such as drills, dermatomes
Scopes and probes, including fiber optic endoscopes and tactile probes
Carriers and appliers for optical, electronic and mechanical devices
Ultrasound tissue disruptors, cryotomes and cutting laser guides
Measurement devices, such as rulers and calipers

An important relative distinction, regarding surgical instruments, is the amount of bodily disruption or tissue trauma that their use might cause the patient. Terms relating to this issue are 'atraumatic' and minimally invasive. Minimally invasive systems are an important recent development in surgery.

References

↑ "Kocher's Forceps Medical Definition | Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary". Merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
↑ Renee Nimitz, Surgical Instrumentation: an Interactive Approach (Saunders, 2010) 1416037020, pxiii
↑ "Laparoscopic graspers", Laparoscopic.md. Accessed 16 August 2013

External links

Surgical instruments

Dissecting

Scalpels	Laser scalpel RF knife Lancets Liston knife Catlin Von Graefe knife

Surgical scissors:	Bandage scissors Iris scissors Mayo scissors Metzenbaum scissors Tenotomy scissors

Other:	Rongeur Curette Osteotome Drill bits Rasps Trocars Drills Dermatomes

Grasping (forceps)

Clamping

Retracting/viewing

Accessory/other

Examination/prep:	Dilators Specula Fiber optic endoscopes Head mirror

Suction:	Yankauer suction tip

Irrigation and injection needles

Measurement devices:	rulers and calipers

Drain:	Jackson-Pratt drain Penrose drain

Other:	Surgical staplers Periodontal probe Surgical suture

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