Holzheimer Self-Retaining Retractor, 10 cm – Blunt Hooks

A self-retaining retractor is set once and then forgotten, and at this size that is often the only way a small procedure can be done single-handed. 10 cm is short — this is for minor and superficial work where the wound is a couple of centimetres across and there is neither room nor need for an assistant. The retractor is spread, locks, and the surgeon has both hands back.

The hooks are blunt rather than sharp, which is the significant choice. A sharp-pronged self-retaining retractor holds more securely but keeps its points buried in tissue for the whole procedure with no one monitoring them; blunt hooks bear on the wound edge instead of penetrating it, so the sustained pressure is spread rather than concentrated at puncture points. On short superficial cases that is the right trade, since the tension needed is modest and the wound edge is the thing that has to heal cleanly.

Specifications