Page 1 of 8
Instruments used in general surgery
There are many different surgical specialties, some of which require very specific kinds
of surgical instruments to perform.
General surgery is a specialty focused on the abdominal contents, as well as the thyroid
gland, and diseases involving skin, breasts, various soft tissues, trauma, peripheral
vascular disease, hernias, and endoscopic procedures.
This page is dedicated specifically to listing surgical instruments used in general
surgery.
Instruments can be classified in many ways - but broadly speaking, there are five kinds
of instruments.
1. Cutting and dissecting instruments:
o Scalpels, scissors, and saws are the most traditional.
o Elevators can be both cutting and lifting/retracting.
o Although the term dissection is broad, energy devices such as
diathermy/cautery are often used as more modern alternatives.
2. Grasping or holding instruments:
o Classically this included forceps and clamps predominantly.
o Roughly, forceps can be divided into traumatic (tissue crushing) and
atraumatic (tissue preserving, such as Debakey's)
o Numerous examples are available for different purposes by field.
3. Hemostatic instruments:
o This includes instruments utilized for the cessation of bleeding.
o Artery forceps are a classic example in which bleeding is halted by direct
clamping of a vessel.
o Sutures are often used, aided by a needle holder.
o Cautery and related instruments are used with increasing frequency in high
resource countries.
4. Retractors:
o Surgery is often considered to be largely about exposure.
o A multitude of retractors exist to aid in exposing the body's cavities accessed
during surgery.
o These can broadly be handheld (often by a junior assistant) or self-retaining.
o Elevators can be both cutting and lifting/retracting.
5. Tissue unifying instruments and materials:
o This would include instruments that aid in tissue unification (such as needle
holders or staple applicators)
o And the materials themselves
Page 2 of 8
Instruments used in surgery are:
Instrument
Image Brief description Specific instruments
Name
Electrical surgical
cauterization Bovie Pencil
utilizes electricity in Monopolar Hook
Electrical
either a mono-polar
cautery Monopolar Spatula
or bi-polar format to
burn soft tissue and Bipolar Forceps
control bleeding.[12]
for scraping or
debriding biological
Come in various sizes and
Curette tissue or debris in a
shapes
biopsy, excision, or
cleaning procedure
To take off a top
layer of skin to
Dermatome
implant over another
area;
Grasping/holding.
Forceps, Usually used in skin
Adson
Dissecting closure or small
wounds
Page 3 of 8
Instrument
Image Brief description Specific instruments
Name
Grasping/holding
Forceps, Tissue Allis
tissue
Used to secure
Penetrating Backhaus penetating towel
towels or reduce
towel clamp clamp
bone fragments
Carmalt forceps haemostatic forceps kalabasa
Cushing Non-toothed dissecting
grasping/holding
forceps forceps
Dandy forceps haemostatic forceps
Non-toothed dissecting
DeBakey forceps designed for use on
grasping/holding
forceps blood vessels, organs, or
delicate tissue
Doyen clamps and Non-crushing clamp designed
intestinal clamp distractors for use on the intestines
Kelly forceps hemostatic forceps
Kocher forceps hemostatic forceps
Page 4 of 8
Instrument
Image Brief description Specific instruments
Name
Mosquito
hemostatic forceps
forceps
Hook retractor
Nerve hook retractor
Skin hook retractor
Lancet (scalpel) cutting
Mammotome
Castroviejo Crilewood Mayo-
Needle holder grasping/holding
Hegar Olsen-Hegar
Retractor retractor Handheld:
Deaver
Weitlander
Army-Navy
Richardson
Richardson-Eastmann
Ribbon
Self-retaining:
Page 5 of 8
Instrument
Image Brief description Specific instruments
Name
O'Connor-O'Sullivan
Thompson
Omni-Tract
Ultrasonic
cutting
scalpel
Laser scalpel cutting
May be curved or straight
Iris
Scissors Cutting, spreading
Metzenbaum's
Mayo
Tenotomy
Used to retract Graves'
Speculum
orifices. Sim's
Suction
tube and accessories and
Yankeur implants
suction tip
Surgical
elevator
Page 6 of 8
Instrument
Image Brief description Specific instruments
Name
Surgical hook retractor
Used to cut vessels
Surgical blade
or make small
#15
incisions
accessories and
Surgical mesh
implants
accessories and
Surgical needle
implants
Surgical sponge
Used to make a
GIA stapler gastrointestinal Linear stapler
anastamosis
Surgical tray
Suture
Tongue
depressor
Tonsillotome
Towel clamp clamp
Page 7 of 8
Instrument
Image Brief description Specific instruments
Name
Towel forceps clamp
Backhaus towel
forceps
Lorna towel Non-penatrating
clamp towel clamp
Tracheotome
Tissue accessories and
expander implant
Subcutaneous
inflatable accessories and
balloon implants
expander
Trephine cutting instrument
Access instrument.
Used to create an
opening into a space
without opening the
abdominal cavity. A
camera then inserted
Trocar through one to view
the inside of the
space while
instruments are
inserted through the
Disposable trocar family
others to manipulate
the organs.
Ultrasonic Surgical device
energy device using electrical
energy that's
Page 8 of 8
Instrument
Image Brief description Specific instruments
Name
converted to
mechanical
ultrasound energy
typically used to
dissect tissue but
also seals small
vessels and tissue
bundles.
Vessel sealing
device used to weld
vessels together
prior to cutting.
Vessel Sealing
These devices used Advanced Bipolar Energy
Device
bipolar radio
frequency energy to
create heat that
welds the tissue.
Vessel sealing device
