Surgical forceps names: telling the main types apart

Two big groups: clamping and thumb forceps

The first distinction is the handle. Ring-handled forceps with a ratchet lock clamp and hold, and are often called clamps. They stay closed without hand pressure. Thumb forceps, also called tweezers, are spring-type instruments held between thumb and fingers like a pencil. They grasp tissue or dressings only while squeezed.

Within each group the family is defined by the jaw: serrated, toothed, atraumatic or broad. On a tray, look at the jaw first, then the curve, then the length. Our general overview of types of surgical instruments places forceps in the wider picture.

A practical habit for new staff is to learn the families first and the eponyms second. If you can say whether an instrument clamps, holds tissue, carries a swab or secures a drape, you will rarely reach for the wrong tool, and the exact name then becomes a matter of curve, length and jaw pattern.

Surgical forceps names: haemostatic types and uses

The REDA forceps section centres on haemostatic forceps: Halsted-Mosquito, Hartmann, Crile, Kelly, Spencer-Wells, Rochester-Pean, Rochester-Ochsner, Kocher and Bengolea, in straight and curved versions and several lengths. They clamp bleeding vessels before ligation or electrocoagulation, and they hold tissue or sutures. The main variables are size and serration: fine mosquito-type forceps for small vessels, larger Kelly and Rochester-Pean patterns for bulk tissue, and toothed Kocher forceps for tough fascia.

Further reading: mosquito forceps, Kelly versus Crile, Kocher forceps and the main haemostatic forceps guide.

Straight jaws give better control on superficial vessels, while curved jaws let the surgeon see the tips and work around structures in a deeper wound. Many theatres keep both shapes in every common length, so that a set can be matched to the procedure without improvisation.

Tissue and dressing forceps

Thumb forceps for tissue handling come as dressing forceps with serrated tips and tissue forceps with interlocking teeth, such as 1x2 and 2x3 teeth. REDA lists Adson, Adson-Brown, Cushing, Semken, Gerald and Potts-Smith patterns, splinter forceps for minor procedures and atraumatic DeBakey and Cooley forceps for vascular work, in the tissue and dressing forceps range.

Teeth hold skin and fascia securely with little pressure, while smooth or fine-serrated jaws are used for delicate or bowel tissue. If you are unsure of the difference between the two, read anatomical versus surgical forceps and tissue forceps in detail.

Towel, swab and vascular forceps

Other families work around the field. Towel clamps fix drapes to skin. Sponge-holding or swab forceps, such as the Foerster pattern, carry swabs for skin preparation or compression, with open fenestrated jaws that grip a swab securely. See sponge-holding forceps.

Vascular clamps are built to occlude without crushing. The range includes atraumatic bulldog clamps, Johns-Hopkins serrefines, titanium atraumatic clamps, and Mixter and Overholt dissecting forceps for deeper dissection. Their jaws carry fine longitudinal serration to protect the vessel wall; compare them in the vascular clamps article. Hysterectomy, gall-duct and tubing clamps complete the list.

• Haemostats: clamp vessels, hold tissue
• Dressing and tissue forceps: grasp tissue and dressings
• Towel clamps: secure drapes
• Swab forceps: carry swabs
• Atraumatic vascular clamps: occlude vessels gently

Buying and checking forceps

Inspect jaws for alignment: tips must meet, serrations must mesh and the ratchet must hold under light shaking. Check box-joint smoothness and the finish. Buy by the pattern name used by the surgeon, since the same pattern name can differ slightly by manufacturer, and specify length in millimetres or centimetres.

REDA Instrumente, from Tuttlingen, states that its quality system is certified to DIN EN ISO 13485 and that it holds an EU MDR certificate; ask for the current documents when you order. Beckfinity can assemble a quote by pattern name via our contact page.