Surgical Needles

Surgical Needles

Contents

1) Anatomy of A Surgical Needle2) Ideal Characteristics Of A Needle3) Shapes/Angle of Curvature4) Points5) Guidelines For Selection.6) Suturing Technique

Anatomy of a Surgical Needle

IDEAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A NEEDLE

• Made of high quality stainless steel as thin as possible without compromising strength.

• Stable in the grasp of a needle holder.• Able to carry suture material through tissue – minimal

trauma.• Sharp enough to penetrate tissue with minimal resistance.• Rigid to resist bending• Ductile to resist breaking during surgery.• Sterile and corrosion resistant – no micro organism, no foreign

materials.

Needle Shapes

Needle Points1. Cutting points : the cutting edge is on the concave surface. It is

used when tissue is difficult to penetrate such as skin and tendon

2. Reverse cutting: the cutting edge is on the convex surface and is ideal for skin, tendon sheath, or oral mucosa. Reverse cutting needles have more strength than conventional, and a reduced risk of cutting through tissue.

3. Taper point : used in soft tissue such as intestine and peritoneum, the sharp point is at the tip of needle

4. Blunt point : used for suturing friable tissue such as liver and kidney

Conventional vs Reverse Cutting

Cutting edge on inside of circle

Skin Traumatic

Cutting edge on outside of circle

Skin Less traumatic than

cutting

Conventional Cutting Reverse Cutting

Blunt vs Lancet

Taper point vs Trocar point

General Guidelines for Selection of Needle

References

• Bailey & Love’s Short Practice of Surgery• http://midlevelu.com/blog/suturing-101-

needles-sizes-and-materials