ABSTRACT
Knowing and understanding basic surgical principles can help a surgeon choose appropriate instrumentation for a specific procedure or surgery. A needle holder, toothed tissue forceps, and scissors are instruments most commonly used when suturing. Needle holders and scissors are held at the level of the most distal knuckle of the thumb and ring finger. Operating scissors are generally classified by their tips, such as blunt-blunt, blunt-sharp, or sharp-sharp. Most scissors are made of stainless steel, but some manufacturers place tungsten carbide along the cutting edge to increase the hardness. Typically, forceps are used to hold or pick up tissue that is too small for hands or fingers. Although counterintuitive, using forceps with serrations or teeth may cause less tissue damage than smooth tissue forceps as less pressure is needed to grasp the tissue with toothed forceps. Therefore, Adson and Adson Brown forceps are more commonly used to grasp tissue when suturing.
