Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgical Instruments
Clear Choice Medical sells new and used cardiovascular surgical instruments on this page, from DeBakey vascular clamps to thoracic rib spreaders and rib shears.
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Clamp patterns among these vascular instruments include DeBakey, Cooley and Fogarty styles. Aortic, coarctation and tangential occlusion clamps are listed as well, along with bulldog clamps. Thoracic pieces include Finochietto rib spreaders, rib contractors and sternal retractors. You can also browse DeBakey vascular tissue forceps, Potts scissors and Jacobson needle holders. The page also carries vascular dilators. You will see V. Mueller, Pilling and Codman listings, along with Scanlan and Snowden-Pencer.
To match a cardiothoracic clamp, compare the jaw pattern, the jaw length and the jaw angle. DeBakey jaws carry fine longitudinal teeth, while Fogarty clamps take replaceable jaw inserts such as Hydragrip. Also check the overall length, since one pattern can come in several sizes. Some needle holders and forceps are titanium, so check the title for the material. For a rib spreader, compare the blade width and depth with the overall size of the frame.
Items leave this page once they sell, so confirm the model number on the listing you choose. Browse the current listings, or contact Clear Choice Medical about a clamp pattern you need to match.
Common questions about Cardiovascular & Thoracic
What is the difference between a rib spreader and a sternal retractor?
A rib spreader and a sternal retractor are both self-retaining retractors, but they belong to different pattern families. A rib spreader is also called a Finochietto retractor. Its rack-and-pinion frame opens with a hand crank. The Burford-Finochietto version takes replaceable blades. Sternal retractors carry names such as Morse, Gerbode, Ankeney and Kuyper-Murphy. Pilling lists the Ankeney with six sets of blades and the Kuyper-Murphy with a concave blade. Pilling also notes arm shape, with curved arms on some Finochietto models and straight arms on the Kuyper-Murphy. Match the pattern name first, then compare the spread, the blade size and the arm shape.
What are Potts scissors, and how are the angles listed?
Potts scissors are vascular scissors with angled blades. Makers give the blade angle in degrees, and many listing titles repeat it. Pilling lists Potts-Smith scissors angled at 25, 45 and 60 degrees. A V. Mueller Potts-Smith reverse pattern is angled at 130 degrees. Scanlan and Pilling also list angled Diethrich-Potts scissors. After the angle, compare the blade length and the overall length. One Pilling 25 degree pattern is 19 cm long with a 25 mm blade. Some patterns have carbide inserts along the cutting edges, so check the title for TC or carbide. The Potts-Smith name also appears on tissue forceps, so read the full title before you compare.
What is a bulldog clamp?
A bulldog clamp is a small spring-action clamp with serrated jaws. The spring supplies the grip. Some designs use a weaker spring or jaws covered in a soft material. Pilling lists bulldog clamps in straight, curved and angled forms. Its Johns Hopkins bulldogs run from 4 cm to 7.5 cm in length. Micro patterns such as the Schwartz are about 2.5 cm long. Pilling sells a bulldog clamp applying forceps as a separate item. The word bulldog also appears in some needle holder names, such as the Mayo-Hegar broad bulldog. Read the full title to see whether a listing is a clamp or a needle holder.