Breast Engler Retractor, 65 x 12 mm Blade, Fiber Optic and Suction Options

What the breast engler retractor is

The breast engler retractor is a narrow bladed breast retractor. The blade is 65 mm long and 12 mm across, and both numbers are the point of it.

A transaxillary or periareolar augmentation gives the surgeon an opening a few centimeters wide and a pocket that has to be dissected through it. A 30 mm blade will not turn in that space. A 12 mm blade goes in, turns, and reaches the far wall of the pocket.

Our own record then offers the same narrow blade three ways: plain, with a fiber optic light, or with suction. That choice is the second half of the instrument, and on a closed pocket it matters more than the blade.

Key design features of this engler retractor

Four features on the Engler, and three of them are the ordering choice on our own record.

• A narrow blade, 65 mm by 12 mm. It fits and turns where a wide blade cannot.
• A plain version. No fiber, no suction, nothing to clean out afterwards.
• A fiber optic version. Light carried to the end of the blade, inside the pocket, where an overhead lamp reaches nothing at all.
• A suction version. A channel that clears electrocautery smoke and blood without a second instrument taking up room in a small opening.

Narrow blade breast retractor sizes and versions

Five rows of this table are ours, and the last one says plainly what we do not carry.

One blade size, three Engler versions. Our record does not carry an overall length for this pattern, so none is published here, and it is worth saying that the 65 mm figure is the BLADE and not the instrument.

Breast engler retractor uses, by approach

Every one of these is an operation done through an opening smaller than the pocket behind it.

What the breast engler retractor holds, and what it protects

On a narrow blade the protecting column is mostly about the incision edge, because that is the part a small opening punishes.

How this fiber optic breast retractor compares with the rest of the family

Four of the seven rows are our own pages, and the last two rows are this same instrument without one of its options.

Materials and finish

Made from high quality medical grade stainless steel, satin finished so nothing reflects back out of a deep narrow pocket. The steel itself is made to a German specification. On the fiber optic version the light channel is finished inside as well as out, and on the suction version the channel is smooth end to end, because a rough bore is where tissue and clot lodge.

Caring for a breast engler retractor

Clean with a soft brush under running water. On the suction version flush the channel through with a stylet or a channel brush until it runs clear, every single time, because a blocked suction channel is the most common way this pattern fails. On the fiber optic version follow the light cable manufacturer instructions for the cable and clean around the post and the channel behind it. Rinse in deionized water and dry fully before autoclaving.

Store on a rack, and store the three versions together rather than in separate trays: the blade is the same on all three, so a set that has been split up is a set where somebody reaches for the plain breast engler retractor on a day the pocket turns out to need light. Check the blade for straightness each time it is put away, because 12 mm of steel bends more easily than 30 mm does.

Ordering a breast engler retractor, and wholesale

Adas Instruments makes the breast engler retractor to order and supplies hospitals, surgical centers and distributors across the United States, Latin America, Europe and Asia. State which version you want: plain, with fiber optic, or with suction. Bulk and wholesale pricing is available, and instruments held on backorder ship in 10 to 12 working days. Every instrument carries a three year replacement warranty against manufacturing defects. Certifications: CE. Production is controlled under an ISO 13485 quality management system.

Frequently asked questions

What are breast engler retractor uses?

Holding a breast pocket open through a small incision. It is used in transaxillary, periareolar and inframammary breast augmentation, in reconstruction, in revision surgery, in capsulectomy and in gynecomastia surgery.

Why is the breast engler retractor blade so narrow?

Because the opening is narrow and the pocket behind it is not. Twelve millimeters of blade can be introduced through a short axillary or periareolar incision and then turned inside the pocket. A 30 mm blade cannot be turned in that space at all, so it is the wrong instrument however good it is at holding weight.

Should I order the breast engler retractor plain, with fiber optic, or with suction?

Plain if the pocket is short and the light from outside reaches it. Fiber optic if you are working at the far wall of a pocket where no overhead lamp reaches. Suction if the dissection is done with cautery, because the smoke fills a closed pocket in seconds and a lit retractor in smoke shows you less than an unlit one in clear air. All three are on our own record.

What is the difference between an engler retractor and a Tebbetts?

Blade geometry and the technique behind it. The Engler is a narrow straight blade for reaching through a small opening. The Tebbetts is a flat angled blade, supplied smooth or toothed, built around a different dissection sequence. If a set list names one, order that one.

Can the suction version be used without suction connected?

Yes, it is a retractor first. But the channel still has to be cleaned after every case whether it was connected or not, because fluid gets into it either way and a channel left to dry is a channel that blocks.

Related products and categories

Buyers who order the breast engler retractor usually look next at the ADAS LumaPocket breast retractor, the marx breast retractor and the tebbetts breast retractor. The whole family sits in hooks and retractors, and this pattern is also listed under fiber optic instruments.