Types of Surgical Blades You’ll Find on the Market

If you’re looking to outfit your hospital or surgical center with brand-new surgical blades, you might find yourself overwhelmed by the sheer number of options available on the market. There are a number of different shapes and sizes of surgical blades, some of which are designed for specific surgical purposes and others of which are designed for more general use.

At Larson Sharpening, Inc., our team specializes in surgical instrument sharpening in San Diego, CA and has a good understanding of the various types of surgical instruments and their purposes. Here’s a brief overview of some of the most common types of surgical blades you’ll find, and what they’re typically used for:

• #10: This blade features a large, curved cutting edge and a more traditional style of blade shape. It’s one of the most common surgical tools you’ll find in any medical setting, as it’s used for cutting soft tissue and making larger incisions.
• #11: This blade is long and triangular, with the long hypotenuse being the sharpest side. It has a pointed tip that is ideal for making stabbing incisions or shallow, precise, short cuts in certain situations.
• #12: This blade is small and has a crescent shape that points downward, with the inside of the curve being the sharpest part of the blade. It’s most commonly used as a suture cutter.
• #15: This curved blade is ideal for making short incisions, because the curved cutting edge is so small.
• #20: This is a much larger curved blade that is used for making more significant cuts in tissue, as well as for making punctures in some types of medical procedures. The curved section of the blade is much larger in the #20 than it is in the #15.
• #21: This is a blade that’s very similar to the #20, as it features a large, curved cutting section. It’s also used for the same general purposes—procedures in which a puncture or large cut is required.
• #22: This blade is basically a scaled-up version of the #10 blade. It features a flat back edge that is smooth and unsharpened, and a shorter, curved section that does the cutting. These blades are generally used for creating larger incisions, and deal with thicker skin.
• #23: This larger blade is a little narrower than the #20 and #21, and features a pointier tip for easier puncturing and some more accurate small incisions.

It’s also important to consider whether the surgical blades you’re looking at are either single-use or reusable blades. Reusable blades are most commonly permanently attached to the handle they come with, and it’s important to work with a professional provider of medical instrument sharpening in San Diego, CA to keep them sharp and easy to work with. Single-use blades are designed to lock into a handle and can be easily removed and disposed of as necessary. Some types should only be used once before being discarded, while others can be reused once or twice.

For more information about the various types of surgical blades that are available on the market and which blades are ideal for your specific purposes, we encourage you to contact Larson Sharpening, Inc. today.

Categorised in: Knife Sharpening