What are the Different Types of Surgical Equipment?

To try and name all the different types of surgical equipment would be a daunting task. Still, surgical equipment can be placed into various categories that help to classify each tool. These categories include graspers, clamps, distractors, retractors, mechanical cutters, dilators, suction equipment, irrigation needles, tyndallers, powered devices, scopes, carriers, ultrasound disruptors, and measurement devices.

Graspers include medical equipment such as forceps. These instruments are used during surgery to grasp various objects. Graspers are often referred to as tweezers and tongs outside of medical facilities. While similar to graspers, clamps serve a different purpose. Clamps are tools that are used to squeeze together various organs and blood vessels. In every manner, clamps are important part of any surgery.

Distractors are used to position an area of the body during surgery, while retractors are used to separate and spread various portions of skin and tissue. Once the body has been positioned, mechanical cutters can be used to enter a certain portion of the body. Mechanical cutters can refer to scalpels, lancets, drill bits, rasps, trocars, and other instruments that are mechanical in nature. These cutters are used frequently during most types of surgery.

Dilators are an essential tool when it comes to opening up small spaces within the body. A dilator can be inserted into a small area of the body, allowing for a surgeon to effectively work within a tight area. Sometimes, surgeons need to remove bodily fluids, which is possible with the help of suction tools. Suction tubes help surgeons to remove excess material, often suction tubes are used during plastic surgery, and irrigation and injection needles are used to insert liquids into the body.

Brain surgery could not be performed without Tyndallers, which can be wedged into the brain in order to open up damaged tissue. Likewise, power devices such as drills allow surgeons to cut through portions of the skull. One of the most basic types of surgical equipment are carriers. Carriers are used to contain various optical, mechanical, and electronic equipment. Ultrasound disruptors assist surgeons with stomach-related surgeries.

Lastly, measurement devices are much the same within the medical world as they are outside the medical world. These tools include rulers and calipers, and they are used to measure certain portions of the body during surgery. All surgical equipment has a unique place within a surgical setting.

Since surgical equipment is such an important part of modern surgery techniques, new kinds of surgical equipment are being invented every day. While surgeons had no way to enter some body parts in the past, today's equipment makes many different surgical techniques possible.