What are retractor surgery tools? Well, they are the surgical tools that assist surgeons in holding back incisions and organs so that they can perform medical procedures on parts of the body that would otherwise be difficult to reach.
There are two different kinds of surgical retractors and each of them has a particular specialty - for example, the type of retractor used depends on the area of the body that needs to be operated on.
Here, we’ll look at what they are used for in a bit more detail.
Two main types of surgical retractor
There are two main types of surgical retractors, a hand-held retractor and a self-retaining retractor. Within each of these types are different subtypes.
They are ‘exposing’ surgical instruments, used in an operating theatre to help surgeons in lots of different ways, such as holding back organs, retracting tissues, spreading incisions, retracting skin and bones, and exposing wounds.
Some types of retractors are hook-like and can be used to lift areas of the body to allow access to underneath organs. They can also be used as clamping instruments.
Surgical retractors in operations
Let’s now take a look at the different types of retractors and how they can be used:
Hand-held retractors
Hand-held retractors are used in single pieces (such as the above-mentioned hook-like retractors). The downside to this form of surgical tool is that they have no mechanism to lock them into place so they depend on the surgeon holding them steady, which can become tiring after a while.
They are still incredibly useful tools though as they help retract and hold the organs and flesh in surface procedures.
However, in some cases, they can be used for retracting incisions to access the deep surgical sites.
They’re almost always made of stainless steel but sometimes are made from plastic or rubber, too.
Self-retaining Retractors
These are the gold standard in surgical retractors. They free up the surgeon’s hands and become extensions - especially useful in critical procedures.
They have a special ratchet system, or adjustable lock mechanism that ensures they can be securely locked in place for longer procedures when a patient might be under anaesthesia for several hours.
Self-retaining retractors have a more complex structure than their hand-held counterparts. They often have sharper tips and/or prongs that help retract the incisions and expose the organs much more efficiently.
Benefits of self-retaining retractors
Hand-held retractors have their uses and their benefits depending on the type of procedure they are being used for. However, self-retaining retractors are becoming ever more popular as they can be used for pretty much all operating procedures for which a surgeon would need a retractor. Here are just a few of their manifold benefits in the operating theatre.
Self-retaining retractors offer more versatility because they can:
• Free up the surgeon’s and assistant hand
• Stop the surgeon's and assistants' hands from getting tired
• Offer improved access to the surgical site
• Better for longer procedures that require more sensitive handling
• Be adjusted with a single hand
