Retractor, 18 cm – 3 × 15 mm Blade

Blade proportions decide what a retractor suits, and 15 mm wide by 3 mm deep is about as shallow as a blade gets. It holds a long stretch of tissue edge while barely projecting into the wound, which fits a plane that opens sideways rather than downwards. A deeper blade in that position gains nothing and presses on whatever sits behind the plane being held.

18 cm places it in the common middle of the range: enough reach for a moderately deep field with the hand outside it, short enough to stay controllable. The shallow blade also means the surgeon sees past it — a retractor that holds tissue back but fills the space it created is a poor trade in a small exposure.

Specifications