Several factors go into selecting handle and blade.
First and foremost, the handle.
1. Optimize precision, balance & visibility-Surgical blade handles vary in size, weight, and length to provide the surgeon with the preferred ergonomics and fit based upon the procedure , surgical site, and desired outcome.
2. Size options- Surgical blade handles come in different versions ranging from #3 to #9. The #3 and #4 have a long, flat handle. The #5, #6, and #8 blade handles have a wider base. The #7 is shaped much like a writing pen-slender and rounded at the front and flat at the back. The #9 handle is longer and slender. Surgical blades come in complementary sizes, each designed to fit exclusively on a specific handle size.
3. History of handle sizes- The scalpel handle referred to as a “B.P. handle,” named after Charles Russell Brand and Morgan Parker, who patented the two-piece (handle separate from the blade) design in 1915. The numbering system dates back to Morgan Parker, who numbered the handles from 1-9 and assigned the surgical blades a number from 10-20. The system became widely accepted in the medical community. Today, the same numbering system is often used except for more custom novel handles which, like Lumohs, share features of the traditional scalpel handle, but provide highly specific functionality beyond that of holding a blade.
4. Lumohs- Custom scalpel handle with functionality- beyond that of just holding a blade. Can enable surgeon to target light immediately in front of blade, millimeters from surgical site, enabling improved illumination and visibility on previously poorly visualized surgical sites.
If youre a surgeon and would like affordable, unobstructed, shadowless light directly on the surgical site , for pennies compared to thousands, check out Lumohs.
