Great for working in tight spaces versus a 10 blade for excision (i.e., oncology cases or urogyn cases – think about sharply cutting on your cardinal ligament bites – a 15 blade on a 3L handle is great for this!)Īlso great for stab incisions, and many folks may prefer a 15 to an 11 blade for Bartholin’s or laparoscopy incisions. You can use this for a stab incision at the point, and a more controlled incision for excising tissue with the curved portion. The number fifteen has a small, curved cutting surface as well as a pointed tip. Its shape is not great though for excising anything - it’s really pointy! Its shape is best suited for a stab incision - for instance, for laparoscopic port incisions, Bartholin’s gland cruciate incisions, and the like. The number eleven blade is triangular, long, and has a sharp point with an edge on one side. You may also encounter a number 22 blade, which is essentially a larger version of the #10. This is probably what you’re most familiar with in OB/GYN applications. The number ten blade is used to make longer skin incisions for laparotomy, or for shorter cuts where a wide blade is ideal (i.e., hysterotomy). You may be more familiar with these, but likewise may not have had to ask for them before! The number seven handle is very narrow and meant for precise, fine work – not typically used in OB/GYN or subsepcialties – more common in head/neck/ENT, plastics, neurosurgery, and dentistry. The number four handle fits larger blades (#20 and above), but otherwise is very similar to the #3. Modifications include the 3L (long-handle scalpel) and 3L angled (long-handle with a slight angulation). Some serrations near the blade attachment area to provide better grip for surgeon The number three handle is most commonly used in surgical specialties: You’ve probably never had to ask for these in a surgical tray – so let’s review! We’ll talk about the most common handles and blade types today. Parker initially numbered handles 1-9 and blades 10-20 while this has been somewhat modified/expanded, the nomenclature largely remains the same. His original design (slightly modified) is still what we use today! Morgan Parker, a 22 year old engineer at the time, patented a locking scalpel handle and blade system in 1915 to replace what previously were often single-piece instruments without a replaceable blade. Ron Barbosa is on Twitter and does some great surgical tweetorials!) Today, let’s focus in on an essential surgical instrument - the scalpel!Īdditional reading: British Journal of Surgery Oct. It’s been a while since we did a surgically-focused episode - we’ve previously done a series on laparoscopy and hysteroscopy, as well as on sutures and needles.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |