Four major types of surgical equipment used by doctors

As a surgeon, you need to have everything in place in the operation theatre. Starting from the disposable medical gloves to the surgical threads, one will require a massive set of instruments and equipment pieces to complete the surgery quickly. To have the best quality surgical instruments, you should look for the best medical device manufacturing company. After all, your patient’s health will be in your hand inside the OT, and there won’t be any room for compromise.

But before you start looking for the best manufacturing company, don’t you think you should have more knowledge about different surgical equipment pieces?

Obviously, yes, which is why we have listed down some of the significant surgical items you will need in the future in this article. Besides explaining their functions, we will also introduce you to some specific aspects to get clarity.

Category 1: Incising and dissecting equipment pieces

The most basic category of equipment a surgeon will need inside the OT is the cutting instrument.There are several kinds of cutting equipment that help the surgeons make minor cuts on the skin, separate tissues and muscles apart, make holes, etc. These instruments are divided based on their utility and structure so that you can select the best medical equipment manufacturer. For example:

1. Scalpels are used to make cuts with finesse and precision. They are available in different sizes according to the surgery type. However, all of them will have a scalpel blade with a pointed tip and sharp edge that will help you make a small cut on the skin and tissues. These are mainly used on superficial skin and muscular layers.
2. Surgical scissors have curved arms that will allow you to make cuts in the muscle layers. Ordinary scissors are mainly used for making bigger and rougher cuts while dissecting surgical scissors can make delicate and precise cuts.
3. The blades used for surgeries are much more different than any other blade type, and these are extra thin and come with sharp edges that can cut easily with the least effort. Different cutting instruments will need different blades depending on the type of tissue to be cut or the depth of where the cut needs to be done.

Category 2: Clamping, holding, and grasping instruments

Once the cutting process is over, doctors use a specific type of instrument to grasp something, like a tumor, hold the muscle layers apart, or clamp the ducts present inside. These instruments are essential as they allow the surgeon to examine the internal conditions of any organ or growth inside the ducts. Below we have listed some of the major equipment types used for grasping, clamping, and holding organ parts during surgery.

1. A hemostatis a particular clamping tool used to block the opening of a blood vessel if there is internal bleeding or the doctor needs to perform surgery on the vessels themselves.
2. Needle holders are scissor-like equipment pieces where the two arms at the top are used to hold the needle from the center position during stitches.These are categorized into short-handled and large-handled needle holders depending on whether you need to perform a delicate surgery or deep stitching, respectively.
3. Tissue forces are mainly used for grasping the delicate layers of tissues in case of dissection and keep them apart. It helps the surgeon see what’s inside the muscle or skin layer in the best possible manner.

Category 3: Stapling and suturing instruments 

These instruments are mainly used to close an open wound or rejoin the tissues once the surgery is done. Even though the purpose is the same for stapling and suturing instruments, their structure and handling are different.

1. A surgical stapler uses staples just like a normal one, and it is mainly used to close the superficial muscle and dermal layers. While stapling, it is crucial to maintain an even distance from the two openings of the wound to facilitate the healing process faster.
2. Suturing instruments, like needle holders, suturing scissors, toothed forceps, and others, are used to rejoin the tissues and close the fine wounds. Nowadays, high quality and strong needles are used which have a crescent moon-like shape.

Category 4: General surgery accessories 

Lastly, you will need a wide range of general surgical instruments for finishing the surgery in the fastest way possible. Below, we have listed some of the essential elements that a surgeon will need, regardless of his performing surgery.

1. Disposable gloves should be used by every single person present inside the operation theatre. They should be sterilized before the surgery, and once the work is done, they need to be disposed of immediately.
2. Surgical needles come in small packets, where each packet will have only one needle. If somehow it breaks during suturing, a doctor should use a clean and fresh needle right out of the packet.
3. Surgical threads are very different from the normal threads we use in stitching, and they are strong and made from a material that is not harmful to the body.
4. Another primary type of surgical accessory is the anesthesia instrument. Usually, for more minor surgeries, local anesthesia is done by injecting medicines. However, when it is a critical surgery like a bone or the heart, the patient needs to be anesthetized completely.

Final thoughts 

In the above article, we have talked about the four major equipment types used in any surgery. As you can understand how important they are, it is mandatory to have them from the best suppliers and manufacturers. Also, you should at least keep two of each instrument type so that if the first is not working correctly, you can immediately switch to the next one.