Castroviejo Suture Forceps, 0.3, 0.5 or 0.9 mm Tip, 12 cm

What castroviejo suture forceps are

Castroviejo suture forceps are a microsurgical thumb forceps with two jobs built into one jaw. At the very tip are 1×2 interlocking teeth for holding tissue. Just behind them is a smooth flat tying platform for holding suture. There is no ratchet and no catch: the jaws close by finger pressure alone. They are made by Adas Instruments, reusable and fully autoclavable.

The reason the pattern exists is instrument changes. Under a microscope, every time you put one instrument down and pick up another, your eye leaves the field and has to find it again. A forceps that holds the tissue and then ties the knot removes one of those moments from every single suture.

Some catalogues shorten the name to castro forceps, and the same maker’s name appears on related patterns: castroviejo fixation forceps hold without a platform, and castroviejo tying forceps have a platform and no teeth at all.

The tying platform, and why it decides the instrument

This is the part worth understanding before comparing prices.

A suture is a strand. Grip it at a point and you crush a single spot in it, which is where it will part later. The platform grips along a length instead, so the load is spread and the strand keeps its strength.

On 10-0 thread the difference is not subtle. A frayed 10-0 suture is a suture you throw away, and if it frays while the knot is half set you are starting that stitch again with the field already open.

• Teeth for tissue. 1×2 interlocking, at the very tip.
• Platform for thread. Smooth and flat, immediately behind.
• Three tip sizes. 0.3 mm, 0.5 mm and 0.9 mm.
• No locking mechanism. A pure thumb forceps.

Builds we ship

Three builds of castroviejo suture forceps, all at 12 cm. Imperial sits beside metric because buyers in the United States search in inches.

Nothing is listed there that we do not hold. The tip size is specified on the order rather than carried as a separate item code.

Where these are used

Castroviejo suture forceps started in ophthalmology and they are still mostly an eye instrument, but the platform earns its place anywhere the suture is fine enough to damage.

Buyers searching simply for castroviejo forceps usually land on this build, because the platform is what most of them are actually after. The common factor is magnification. If the closure is being done under a microscope or a loupe, saving an instrument change per knot is worth real money over a list.

Which part of the jaw for which job

The instrument has two working surfaces and using the wrong one is the only way to spoil it.

Ordering one pair? Take the 0.5 mm. It handles most ophthalmic and oculoplastic closure and it will manage finer and coarser work at the edges. Ordering two? Make the second a 0.3 mm for corneal work.

How it compares with the other Castroviejo patterns

Three instruments carry the name and they are not interchangeable.

One thing castroviejo suture forceps will not do is replace a needle holder. They reposition a needle briefly; they do not drive it. And they will not hold a thick skin edge under tension, because the jaws are too small to spread that load.

Materials and finish

Every pair of castroviejo suture forceps is made in high quality medical grade stainless steel. The steel itself is made to a German specification. Each pair is passivated and boil tested before packing, and the finish is satin rather than mirror so neither the teeth nor the platform throws light back under a microscope lamp.

The platform is the part that decides whether the instrument is worth owning. It has to be genuinely flat and genuinely smooth, because a platform with any texture at all will catch a 10-0 strand instead of holding it. Ours are lapped and then checked by hand against the light, and a pair that shows a mark on the platform does not leave the bench.

Care and sterilization

Rinse castroviejo suture forceps in cool water straight after use so nothing dries between the teeth or on the platform. Clean with a neutral pH enzymatic detergent and an ultrasonic bath, rinse in deionized water, dry fully, then steam autoclave at 134 degrees Celsius.

Keep abrasives away from the platform. No wire brush, no scouring pad, no abrasive paste: scratching that flat face is the fastest way to ruin the reason you bought the instrument. Check the tips and the platform against a bright light before each list, and retire any pair where the teeth no longer meet cleanly.

Ordering and wholesale

Castroviejo suture forceps are supplied by Adas Instruments to hospitals, surgical distributors and OEM buyers, in single units and in bulk. The item code is AC-302.03 and it is printed in the build table above so a procurement search finds it. Backorder items dispatch in 10 to 12 working days. Every instrument carries a three year replacement against manufacturing defects.

For wholesale and OEM orders, instruments ship unpackaged in bulk or individually poly bagged, and laser marking with a distributor code or a hospital asset number is available on the shaft. Tell us the tip size and the quantity and the quotation comes back with the lead time for that run.

Production is controlled under an ISO 13485 quality management system.

Frequently asked questions

What are Castroviejo suture forceps used for?

Holding tissue and then gripping the suture strand while the knot is tied, in eye surgery and fine microsurgical closure. Some catalogs list them as Castroviejo suturing forceps. The smooth tying platform behind the teeth is what lets one instrument do both jobs, so there is no tool change on every knot.

What is the tying platform on Castroviejo forceps for?

Tying the knot without changing instruments. It is a smooth flat area just behind the teeth, and it lets you grip a suture strand along its length instead of at a point. A thread held on a platform does not fray and does not get cut, which matters when the strand is 10-0 and there is no second chance with it.

0.3, 0.5 or 0.9 mm tip, which should I order?

0.3 mm for corneal and intraocular work under a microscope. 0.5 mm for general ophthalmic and fine oculoplastic closure, and it is the one most people reach for. 0.9 mm when the tissue has substance to it, for skin edges and thicker conjunctiva. If you are buying one pair, buy 0.5 mm.

How is this different from a plain tissue forceps?

A plain forceps holds tissue. This holds tissue and then ties the suture, because of the platform. On a long microsurgical closure that saves an instrument change on every knot, and every instrument change is a moment when your eye leaves the field.

Why are Castroviejo forceps named after a surgeon?

Ramon Castroviejo was an ophthalmic surgeon and the pattern carries his name, as several eye instruments do. The name tells you the shape of the instrument and nothing about who made it. Ours are made by Adas Instruments.

Related products and categories

Buyers usually compare castroviejo suture forceps against the bishop harmon iris tissue forceps for holding without a platform, plain iris forceps for general fine work, and the micro adson forceps for fine tissue away from the eye. The pattern sits in dressing and tissue forceps, and it is also listed under blepharoplasty instruments.