BASIC OPERATING

ROOM
INSTRUMENTS
 SCALPEL

A scalpel, is a small and extremely sharp bladed instrument used for surgery,

anatomical dissection, podiatry and various arts and crafts (called a hobby knife).
Scalpels may be single-use disposable or re-usable. Re-usable scalpels can have
permanently attached blades that can be sharpened or, more commonly, removable
single-use blades. Disposable scalpels usually have a plastic handle with an
extensible blade (like a utility knife) and are used once, then the entire instrument is
discarded. Scalpel blades are usually individually packed in sterile pouches but are
also offered non-sterile. Double-edged scalpels are referred to as "lancets".
SURGICAL SCALPELS

 Surgical scalpels consist of two parts, a blade and a handle. The handles are
often reusable, with the blades being replaceable. In medical applications, each
blade is only used once (sometimes just for a single, small cut).

a. Handle #3 – blade numbers: 10, 11, 12, 15, 16 & 17

b. Handle #4 – blade numbers 20 and above
Surgical scalpel handle
 SURGICAL SCISSORS
1. Bandage scissors
Bandage scissors, or bandage forceps, are 
scissors that often have an angled tip with a
blunt tip on the bottom blade. This helps in
cutting bandages without gouging the skin.
Lister bandage scissors and utility bandage
scissors exhibit the well known angle, while
Knowles bandage scissors have blades that
are either straight or curved.

Bandage scissors are mostly used;

•To size bandages and dressings.
•To cut through medical gauze.
•To cut through bandages already in place.
2. Iris scissors 
Iris scissors are a type of scissors with short
blades that was originally developed for 
ophthalmic surgery. Iris scissor is such a fine
tool for sutures cutting of soft and delicate
tissues.
Iris scissor is available with having two types of
blades, the straight and curved blade. The
blades are hard, smooth and sharp which makes
the iris scissor a good helping tool for incision
of muscles and tissues. The scissor with curved
blades is designed for tissue contouring in
narrow space areas whereas, the straight blades
are designed for cuts on flat surfaces.
3. MAYO SCISSORS
•Mayo scissors have semi-blunt ends, a feature that
distinguishes them from most other surgical scissors. 
Metzenbaum scissors are, however, similar in that the
ends are the same on both scissor halves, but its handles
are longer and its middle section is slightly narrower.
•Straight-bladed Mayo scissors are
designed for cutting body tissues near the
surface of a wound. As straight-bladed Mayo
scissors are also used for cutting sutures, they are also
referred to as "suture scissors".
•Curved-bladed Mayo scissors allow
deeper penetration into the wound than the
type with straight blades. The curved style
of Mayo scissor is used to cut thick tissues
such as those found in the uterus, muscles,
breast, and foot. Mayo scissors used for dissection
are placed in tissue with the tips closed. The scissors are
then opened so that the tips open and spread out the
tissue during the dissection process.
Curved-bladed Mayo
scissors  Straight-bladed Mayo scissors 
4. Metzenbaum scissors

Metzenbaum scissors are surgical scissors

 designed for cutting delicate tissue and blunt
dissection. The scissors come in variable
lengths and have a relatively long shank-to-
blade ratio. They are constructed of stainless
steel and may have tungsten carbide cutting
surface inserts. The blades can be curved or
straight, and the tips are usually blunt. This is
the most common type of scissors used in
organ-related
5. Tenotomy scissors
Tenotomy scissors are surgical scissors used
to perform delicate surgery. They can be
straight or curved, and blunt or sharp,
depending upon necessity. This equipment can
be used in many surgical specialties, in
particular delicate operations in 
ophthalmic surgery, 
oral and maxillofacial surgery, or in 
neurosurgery.
 CLAMPING
INSTRUMENTS
HEMOSTAT
A hemostat (also called a hemostatic
clamp, arterial forceps, or pean), is a surgical
 tool used in many surgical procedures to
control bleeding.
1. KELLY FORCEPS

• Curved Kelly – used to clamp off

Curved
vessels or tissues such as aorta
Kelly
or uterus.
• Straight Kelly – used to clamp
off superficial arteries and
vessels on the muscle layers. It is
also used in clamping umbilical
cord during deliveries.

Straight Kelly
 2. Mosquito
Forceps
– used for more delicate tissues.
They are very fine and straight or
curved hemostatic forceps used in
surgery to control the bleeding of
the finer vessels or compressing a
bleeding vessel.
3. Bobcock

– these forceps are more

delicate than Allis but less
directly traumatic. They
have broad, flared ends
with smooth tips. These
forceps are used to
atraumatically hold viscera
(bladder and bowel)
4. Allis

– these forceps have

interdigitating short teeth
to grasp and hold tissue or
bowel. These forceps are
slightly traumatic and hold
intestine, fascia and skin.
5. Towel clamp
forceps
 or simply towel clamps
are used to maintain
surgical towels and
drapes in position during
an operation.
 Used to fix suction tubes
and diathermy wires
 6. Foerster sponge
clamp

- also known as a sponge-holding

forceps or a sponge stick, is used to
hold a folded sponge for dissection or
for absorbing fluid in the surgical
field. The tips are oval shaped with
serrations and contain a fenestration
in the middle.
 7. Thumb Forceps

• Thumb forceps are spring forceps

used by compression between
your thumb and forefinger and
are used for grasping, holding or
manipulating body tissue. They
are non-ratchet style. For
example, you could use thumb
forceps to hold or move tissue
during surgery or to move
dressings.
8. Tissue forceps
• Tissue forceps with teeth – used to
hold skin/dense tissue. They have
interdigitating teeth to hold tissue
without slipping.
• Tissue forceps without teeth –
hinged forceps or locking forceps
used for grasping and holding tissue.
Uses:
• Manipulates tissues
• support tissues while making incisions,
and suturing
• retract tissues to improve exposure
• grasp suture materials and needles
9. Debakey
– a type of atraumatic tissue
forceps used in vascular
procedures to avoid tissue
damage during manipulation.
10. Russian Forceps

– Used for atraumatic tissue

grasping during dissection.
11. Adison Forceps
• Adison with teeth – standard
tissue forceps with the opposing
blade surfaces covered with
long, needle-like teeth used to
grasp delicate tissues without
slipping. Used for handling dense
tissue, such as in skin closures. 

• Adison without teeth – meant

for light, careful handling of
tissue.
12. Mixter Forceps

– also known as Right Angle clamp or

Rienhoff clamp, are useful for
dissecting around venous structures.
They are threading forceps used for
hemostatic purposes.
13. MAYO HEGAR NEEDLE HOLDER

-used in a multiple types of surgical procedures.

Due to its versatility, it is one of the most
commonly used surgical tools for both human
and animal procedures and is normally used
with larger, heavier suture needles because of its
wide jaws.

14. Crile-wood Needle Holder

– similar to Mayo-Hegar needle holder but the
.
used to
end tip is finer and gently tapered
hold and guide small to medium size
needles and suture materials. The Crile-
Wood Needle Holder has a gently
tapered, blunt tip and is generally more
delicate than the Mayo-Hegar needle
holder.
Mayo-Hegar Crile-wood Needle Holder
 15. Hartmann
alligator forceps 
- Also known as Hartmann
foreign body forceps, are
medical forceps for removing 
foreign bodies. It is used in
addition to surgery mainly in 
otorhinolaryngology (ENT). 
 RETRACTORS
1. Malleable Retractor

– These retractors are made

from malleable stainless steel,
allowing for easy
modification of retractor
angle and shape. The blades
are available in a variety of
sizes depending on the
surgeon's need and are
commonly used during orbital
dissection to keep orbital fat
out of the surgical field.
2. Weitlaner Retractor
- self-retaining retractor designed
for use on relatively small incisions.
It utilizes a ratchet lock mechanism, in
which the opposing sides of the
instrument are locked apart. Each side
contains between two and six outward-
curving blunt or sharp prong tips that
when spread apart provide grip for
retention and traction to hold an
incision open.
 3. Balfour Retractor
– is a surgical instrument
that is used by a surgeon to
hold open abdominal
incisions during a
laparotomy. Retractors of all
shapes and sizes are used to
clearly expose the surgical site
during surgeries so the
surgeon can see what he or
she is doing, and they work in
a variety of ways.
4. Richardson Retractor

– used to retract
abdominal or
chest incisions. Used
for holding back multiple
layers of deep tissue.
This is one of the most common
general retractors.
5. Deaver Retractors
- used to retract deep
abdominal or chest
incisions. Used in
Cholecystectomy (removal
of gallbladder) for retraction
of right lobe of liver.
6. Army Navy Retractor

– a handheld retractor used to

retract shallow or superficial
incisions.
7. Senn Retractor
- is a handheld, double-ended
retractor used to retract
primarily surface tissue.  One
end is typically L shaped, and
the other has three bent prongs.
"Often used in plastic surgery,
small bone and joint procedures,
or thyroidectomy and dissection
of neck tissue.
 8. Gelpi Retractor
- self-retaining retractors that
hold back organs and tissues
firmly while allowing the
surgeon to be free from
handling efforts during an
incision. This is partly related
to a locking mechanism, a
sliding device mounted on the
surface of the surgical
instrument.
9. Rake Retractor
-a surgical retractor
with an end shaped
like a pitchfork or claw,
used to hold soft
tissues during an
operation.
 MISCELLANEOUS INSTRUMENTS

1. Curette
- is a surgical instrument designed
for scraping or debriding 
biological tissue or debris in a 
biopsy, excision, or cleaning
procedure. In form, the curette is
a small hand tool, often similar in
shape to a stylus; at the tip of the
curette is a small scoop, hook, or 
gouge. The verb to curette means
"to scrape with a curette",
and curettage is treatment that
involves such scraping.
2. Rib Spreader

– two broad, curved-

outward blades which are
mounted on a ratcheted
bar. Spreading of the ribs
can be achieved by
inserting the blades
through the thoracotomy
incision and spreading
them manually.
 3. Bone Rongeur
-are like pliers with a
heavy, pointed jaw. With
their heavy construction,
rongeurs are used for
gnawing holes in bones
during surgery. The scoop
shaped tip of the rongeur is
used for gouging the bone. 
4. Tenaculum
- a surgical instrument, usually
classified as a type of forceps. It
consists of a slender sharp-pointed
hook attached to a handle and is
used mainly in surgery for seizing
and holding parts, such as blood
vessels.
• In most procedures involving
uterine instrumentation, a
tenaculum is used
for stabilization and traction of
the cervix and to decrease the
flexion of the uterus to ease
passage of instruments into the
endometrial cavity.
5. VAGINAL SPECULUM

-Is a gynecological instrument

used for performing pelvic
examinations, Pap Smears, or
examining the cervix.

• SIM’S VAGINAL
SPECULUM
-Is a double-bladed surgical
instrument used for examining the
vagina and cervix.
 6. VAGINAL RETRACTOR

-facilitates surgical exposure

of the pelvis. It also allows
the surgeon to operate
without reliance on variable
surgical assistances.
 7. UTERINE
SOUND

is used to gauge the depth

and position of the uterine
cavity.
8. HEGAR UTERINE DILATORS

-Hegar dilators are used to induce cervical dilation

 in order to gain entry to the interior of the uterus.
• During the process of dilation, the cervix may
have to be stabilized with a tenaculum, and
then the dilators are slowly entered into the
cervical canal with a lubricant, starting with a
thin, low Hegar number rod and progressing
gradually to larger numbers.[11] The dilators can
also be used to sound the uterus.
• Hegar dilators are widely used in gynecology to
open up the cervix. This may be necessary
prior to a uterine curettage or biopsy. They are
also used to overcome stenosis in non-
gynecological situations, such as in urology
 and proctology.
9. CAUTERY DEVICES-
used to either cut or coagulate tissue.
• Electrosurgical pencil
- Commonly referred to as a Bovie pencil
after William Bovie, the first individual to
develop and use an electrosurgical pencil,
this instrument delivers monopolar energy to
tissue. Held like a pencil, these instruments
are operated with either the thumb or
forefinger to deliver cutting or coagulating
current to tissue. They may be placed directly
on the tissue to be cauterized or coupled to
another metal instrument such as a forceps
or laparoscopic instrument to deliver energy.
These instruments may be disposable or
reusable, although they always utilize a
disposable tip. The tip itself may be a narrow
spatula or a fine needle point.
• Bipolar forceps
- These are highly precise
instruments that are used to grasp
and deliver bipolar energy to
tissue. They usually contain a
spring tension shank and are held
between the thumb and forefinger
as one would hold a forceps. They
are excellent at providing energy
only to the tissue between the tips
of the forceps and are therefore
utilized when the delivery of
concentrated, precise energy is
necessary.
10. SUCTION DEVICES-
used to keep the surgical field clear of
blood and bodily fluids, irrigation fluids
placed in the surgical wound, and smoke.

• Yankauer suction tip - most

used suction tip for surgical
procedures. It is typically constructed
of a plastic hand piece with a gently
curved shaft, although it may also be
made of surgical stainless steel. The tip
of the instrument contains a blunt
bulbous head with one or more
openings to allow for suction of fluids.
The atraumatic design of this suction
tip prevents inadvertent injury to
surrounding tissue while providing
effective suction.
• Frazier suction tip - this
suction tip is used for fine,
delicate suctioning applications.
• Laparoscopic suction
device- this suction tip is
attached to a disposable
suction irrigator with pre-
attached tubing. the device
allows a surgeon to
simultaneously irrigate a wound
and rapidly provide suction
with the same instrument.
11. KIDNEY BASIN/ kidney
dish

-also known as emesis basin, is a shallow

basin with a kidney-shaped base and
sloping walls used in medical and surgical
wards to receive soiled dressings and
other medical waste.
12. Sponge bowl
-A sponge bowl is a
surgical instrument
which is used to hold
sponges during surgery.
LAYING OF INSTRUMENTS
Sample instruments for D and C
THANK YOU!
PREPARED BY:
SITTI SAADA MASDAL YAIL, RN