DeBakey Non-Traumatic Vascular Tissue Forceps

Description

DeBakey Non-Traumatic Vascular Tissue Forceps

The DeBakey vascular tissue forceps spends more time in a surgeon’s hand than anything else on a vascular tray. Its jaw pattern spreads the grip across fine opposed rows rather than biting into the wall. As a result, a vessel can be presented, turned and released without the damage a toothed pattern leaves behind.

Two things change between the versions on this page: how wide the tip is, and how long the instrument is. They are independent choices, so pick them separately.

Tip width is the first choice

Tip width decides how much wall you hold at once. A narrow tip takes less vessel and leaves more of the field visible. A wider tip spreads the same load over more wall, which matters on a vessel you will handle repeatedly.

• 1.5 mm — small and distal vessels, and work where the tip must not obscure the suture line
• 2.0 mm — the general working width, and the one most sets start with
• 2.8 mm — medium vessels and graft ends
• 3.5 mm — larger vessels, where a narrow tip would concentrate the hold

Length is the second

Length is about depth, not vessel size. So choose the shortest that reaches comfortably, because a long shank in a shallow field only gets in the way.

• 16 cm — superficial and peripheral work
• 20 cm — the everyday length for routine vascular exposure
• 24 cm — deeper abdominal and thoracic work
• 30 cm — the chest and deep pelvis, where the hand must stay clear of the incision

Straight or curved

Straight is the default and keeps the lowest profile. Curved tips, however, let you reach over or around a structure while the hand stays out of the line of sight. The curved DeBakey vascular tissue forceps is offered at 2.0 mm in all four lengths.

Key features of the DeBakey vascular tissue forceps

• Non-traumatic DeBakey jaw pattern: it grips the wall and does not crush it
• Four tip widths and four working lengths, straight or curved
• Fine cross-serrated shanks, so the hand stays in control over a long case
• One-piece stainless steel with no seams to trap blood
• Autoclavable on standard theatre cycles

Who reaches for it

Cardiothoracic and vascular teams keep the DeBakey vascular tissue forceps in hand through bypass, graft and endarterectomy work. Meanwhile, transplant teams use several widths at once while vessels are prepared. In addition, general theatres keep the 20 cm as a standard atraumatic forceps.

Care

Check the tips meet cleanly along their full length before each case. Because the serrations are fine, they clog easily, so brush them out rather than relying on the washer. Then dry fully and store flat, since a bent tip on an atraumatic forceps cannot be trued back.

Warranty

Three years against manufacturing defects.