Vaginal Closure Instrument Set, 24 Pieces

What a vaginal closure instrument set is

A vaginal closure instrument set is the tray used to close and repair tissue in and around the vagina once the main work is done or the birth is over. Google’s own summary groups it with vaginal repair and suturing sets, and lists what it is used for: soft tissue repair of the vaginal wall, episiotomy repair and vaginal cuff closure. That is the job of our 24 pieces.

It is a suturing tray, not an exposure tray. There is no speculum and no retractor in the box. Google mentions an Auvard speculum and Sims retractors with this kind of set; ours leaves them out because the units that buy a closure set almost always own the exposure instruments already, often in a delivery or major repair tray. Add them when ordering if you need a standalone tray.

For a labor ward, this is the tray that follows our five piece delivery set. The delivery set handles the cord and the placenta; this one handles the tear or the episiotomy. People searching for episiotomy repair instruments or an episiotomy repair kit are usually looking for exactly this combination: needle holders, fine artery forceps, tissue forceps and scissors.

One thing on our own record is worth telling you before you order. The contents of this tray are the same, piece for piece, as our simple vulvectomy set. Both are general closure trays for vulval and vaginal soft tissue. If you are choosing between them, choose by the name your theater list uses.

The detail that sets this tray apart from a general minor set is the teeth on the Mosquito forceps. Most minor sets carry smooth Mosquitoes, which are kinder to fine vessels but slide on wet, swollen tissue after a birth. The 1×2 teeth here bite just enough to hold. If your unit closes mostly dry skin rather than mucosa, a smooth jawed set suits you better, and we can make this vaginal closure instrument set with smooth Mosquitoes to order; say so when you send the order.

Key design features

Eight Mosquito forceps with teeth

Halsted-Mosquito, 12.5 cm, straight, with 1×2 teeth. Vaginal and perineal tissue bleeds from many small points, and eight fine forceps mean each can be caught and held while the next is found. The teeth stop them sliding off wet mucosa.

Two needle holders, two lengths

Mayo-Hegar, 18 cm and 20 cm. The shorter one is for the perineum and the vaginal opening, the longer for the deeper vaginal wall and the cuff. Swapping between them is quicker than reloading a needle at an awkward angle.

Allis and tissue forceps for the edges

Two Allis tissue forceps, 19 cm, 5×6 teeth, hold the wound edges in line for closure. A standard tissue forceps, 14.5 cm, 1×2 teeth, and a dressing forceps of the same length handle each bite of the needle.

Three pairs of scissors

Mayo-Stille, 17 cm, straight for sutures and curved for tissue, and a curved Metzenbaum, 14.5 cm, for fine dissection. A Baby-Adson artery forceps, 14 cm, curved, and two No.3 scalpel handles finish the set.

What is in the tray, piece by piece

Read off our own pattern record for item AD-95525. Twenty four pieces, the box counted separately.

Where the set is used

Every use below is closure or repair of soft tissue, with the exposure provided by instruments the unit already has.

What it does, and what it must not be asked to do

A closure tray is only as good as the order its instruments are kept in.

How it compares with the other vaginal sets

Where this tray sits among our vaginal and vulval sets.

Materials and finish

Every piece in this vaginal closure instrument set is made from high quality medical grade stainless steel. The steel itself is made to a German specification. We do not publish a grade number. On a closure tray the question is whether the Mosquito tips still meet after a year of daily use, because a pair that has sprung lets small vessels slip, and the alloy number says nothing about that.

The ratchets on the Mosquito forceps and the needle holders are cut to close with a firm, even click on each tooth. The ring handles are polished inside where gloved fingers rub, and the outer surfaces have a satin finish so they do not glare under the lamp.

Caring for it

Rinse every piece after the case and open the ratchets before washing. Blood dries quickest in the fine teeth of the Mosquito forceps, and dried blood there is what stiffens a ratchet over time.

Check that the Mosquito tips meet when closed on the first tooth. A pair that crosses at the tip has been used on tissue too thick for it. We realign sprung forceps and resharpen scissors; send them back with the item code. Keeping one spare Mosquito per tray in the store saves pulling a whole set out of use.

Ordering and wholesale

Every piece of the vaginal closure instrument set is made by Adas Instruments in our own workshop and sold direct, which is why the price sits where it does against the catalog houses. Order one for a single tray, or in quantity for a hospital list or a distributor line. We do OEM work under your own brand and your own item numbers. Send us a sample and we will hold a run to your pattern rather than ours. Stock items ship from our own workshop. Backorder items take 10 to 12 working days to make. Every instrument carries a three year replacement warranty against manufacturing defects. Production is controlled under an ISO 13485 quality management system.

Frequently asked questions

What are the names of the instruments in an episiotomy set?

Usually needle holders, fine artery forceps, tissue forceps, Allis forceps and scissors for tissue and sutures. Our vaginal closure instrument set carries all of those in 24 pieces.

What instrument is used for episiotomy?

The cut itself is made with episiotomy scissors, which are angled. The repair afterward uses the instruments in this tray. Episiotomy scissors are not included here and can be added.

How to repair an episiotomy wound?

It is closed in layers: the vaginal mucosa, the muscle and then the skin, usually with absorbable sutures. The needle holders, tissue forceps and Mosquito forceps in this set are the instruments used for each layer.

Can this set be used for vaginal cuff closure?

Yes, provided the cuff is exposed with a speculum or retractor from another tray. The 20 cm needle holder and the Allis forceps are long enough for the cuff.

Is this the same as the simple vulvectomy set?

On our own record the contents are identical. Both are general closure trays for vulval and vaginal soft tissue, sold under the name each operating list uses.

Related products and categories

For a bigger tray with exposure, see the Bartholin cyst excision instrument set, which adds an Auvard speculum. The vaginal construction instrument set is our skin graft tray, and the vesicovaginal fistula repair instrument set carries the fine fistula instruments.

All of our trays for this specialty sit under gynecology and obstetrics instrument sets, and the full range of procedure trays is under surgical instrument sets.