The Basics about Needle Holders by Delasco

needle holders, you have questions: we have answers. I'm Margaux, I'm Paul We're going to answer some of your commonly asked questions and needle holders okay so what can you tell me about the basics of needle holders needle holders are just as the name implies, an instrument used to hold the needle while driving suture, tying suture Ok, so it looks to me that some of the jaws are smooth and some are serrated that is correct. why is that? serrated jaws hold the needle better, but tend to perforate the suture a little bit , causing it to have a bit of drag as it's being pulled to the tissue the smooth jaws do not hold the needle as well but they don't perforate the suture so it's a little bit of a trade-off between the two, and it ultimately comes down to physician choice. I see that this has a really pretty gold handle, is that just for looks, or does that mean something? It does designate that the jaws of the instruments with the gold handles have tungsten carbide inlaid plates the tungsten carbide is harder than the stainless steel of the instrument, as well as the stainless steel in the needle which allows it to have a better durability and hold the needle better can you tell me about a few of our most popular models most popular, work horses i call for dermatology on the webster and the halsey the shape of the jobs of these two types of instruments is most versatile for the types of suture that dermatologist commonly use which is 4.0 , 5.0 and 6.0 so these are the most popular with the dermatologist because it goes with the suture most commonly? correct Do we have any specialized we do have some very fine ones. this is called a mini needle driver it's three and a half inches long and is actually made from the pattern for a hemostat the jaws are very strong and short and the fingerings are nice and large for large hands it's nice and compact and can be used for 6.0, 7.0 and even 8.0 sutures there is also a castroviejo type instrument which has spring handles and is shaped like a pencil there's no fingerings it's closed by squeezing and ratchets shut also good for very fine sutures lastly we have a needle holder scissors combination it's called an olsen-hegar it has the jaws for tying suture and scissors right behind their to cut the suture as you are tying it the doctors are making a pretty good investment in getting nice quality instruments, what is the best way to keep them in their best condition? with needle holders especially, the biggest thing is to autoclave them with the jaws open when you clamp a needle holder down you put a lot of pressure here on the front of the instrument and when it gets autoclaved that expands a steel and can break to get the job to make sure that they're open and that will keep them safe in the autoclave are there any of the instruments that require any special care yes the tungsten carbide instruments, while they're very durable and strong they're bonded to the stainless steel with a weld, and that weld can be broken if they are used in cold sterilization so it's very important that any gold handled instruments not be put in cold sterilization delasco offers personalized engraving, why is that a good idea? engraving offers of physicians a way to personalize it, to identify their office, their practice, their name on their instruments is permanent and protects their investment you can order these needle holders and any of our instruments at delasco.com or give us a call at 800-831-6273