Advertisement
Short reports and Correspondence| Volume 60, ISSUE 8, P961, August 2007

The microsurgical instrument tray – a tremor-free assistant for stabilising amputated parts in replant surgery

Published:March 24, 2007DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjps.2007.01.063
      The microsurgical instrument tray is an excellent assistant for replant surgery. Its silicone finger mat firmly and atraumatically holds the parts to be replanted, allowing fine adjustments of position to be made to ease microsurgical dissection (Fig. 1). The coloured base provides a good microsurgical background. Previously described techniques for stabilising amputated parts include using hypodermic needles and a cork board, stay sutures attached to the operating table

      Grabb and Smith Plastic Surgery. 3rd edn. Boston: Little, Brown; 1979. p. 701.

      or asking an assistant to hold a suture packet with the amputated part stitched to it.
      • Venkatramani H.
      • Sabapathy S.R.
      A simple technique for securing the amputated part during preparation in fingertip replantation.
      We have found the microsurgical instrument tray to be superior by comparison: it is always available (the instruments arrive in it), tremor free and simpler to set up and subsequently adjust. It allows the unassisted surgeon to start tagging the nerves and vessels of the amputated parts, whilst the patient and the operating theatre are prepared and a second surgeon arrives. This results in a shorter operation time for the patient, and a shortened ischaemia time for the amputated part.
      Figure thumbnail gr1
      Figure 1Three fingertips supported by the silicone finger mat of the microsurgical instrument tray.
      To read this article in full you will need to make a payment

      Purchase one-time access:

      Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online access
      One-time access price info
      • For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
      • For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'

      Subscribe:

      Subscribe to Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery
      Already a print subscriber? Claim online access
      Already an online subscriber? Sign in
      Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect

      References

      1. Grabb and Smith Plastic Surgery. 3rd edn. Boston: Little, Brown; 1979. p. 701.

        • Venkatramani H.
        • Sabapathy S.R.
        A simple technique for securing the amputated part during preparation in fingertip replantation.
        Br J Plast Surg. 2004; 57: 592-593