Farabeuf Double End Retractor, Set of 2, 12 cm and 15 cm

What the farabeuf double end retractor is

The farabeuf double end retractor has an L shaped blade at each end of a flat handle. Each blade curves forward and finishes in a rounded blunt lip, and that lip is what lets it hold a wound edge firmly without cutting into it.

One thing about the name before anything else, because it causes real confusion and our own search data shows it. Louis Hubert Farabeuf was a nineteenth century French surgeon and his name is on several instruments, including a periosteal elevator that is nothing like this. Every search that reached us on the bare word Farabeuf was looking for the elevator. This page is the retractor.

Our own record carries two lengths, 12 cm and 15 cm, and both are offered insulated or plain. They are supplied as a set of two, which is how the pattern has always been used.

Key design features of this farabeuf retractor

Four features, and two of them are ordering choices carried in our own record.

• Two lengths. 12 cm and 15 cm, from our own record, and they are for different depths rather than different hands.
• Insulated or non insulated. Also from our own record, for cases with cautery in the wound.
• An L shaped blade at each end. Curving forward to a rounded blunt lip.
• Supplied as a set of two. Both wound edges held at once, by two hands.

Farabeuf retractor set of 2 sizes

The first three rows of this table are our own product record.

The two lengths are a real decision and not a preference. Other catalogs publish blade depths and widths in several patterns; those are not repeated here as ours, because our record carries the lengths and the insulation option and nothing more.

This is the question a buyer actually has, so it is answered here rather than left to a line in a table. The 12 cm farabeuf retractor works in a smaller incision, on superficial and intermediate subcutaneous fat, superficial fascia and thin muscle, where a longer instrument is simply in the way. The 15 cm reaches deeper layers: thicker subcutaneous tissue, a muscular abdominal wall, periosteum and fibrous tissue. Most trays carry both, and if you are buying one pair, buy the length that matches the incision you make most.

Where a double ended farabeuf retractor is used

A double ended farabeuf retractor is a general instrument, and the list is wider than the category this page sits in.

What the blades hold, and what they do not

A blunt lipped blade holds a broad front of soft tissue. It is the wrong answer for anything that has to be gripped.

How this pattern compares with the rest of the family

Five of the six rows are instruments we make, and the first row is the comparison that comes up most, against the larger Army Navy.

Materials and finish

Made from high quality medical grade stainless steel, satin finished so a flat blade face does not reflect the operating light back into the wound. The steel itself is made to a German specification. Both blade lips are rolled and polished, because the lip is the part that sits against tissue for the whole operation and a square edge there will bruise what it is only meant to be holding.

Care and sterilization

Clean with a soft brush under running water, working into the inside of both forward curves where tissue collects, then rinse in deionized water and dry fully before autoclaving. Store flat, as a pair. On the insulated version check the coating each cycle for chips and cracks and take a damaged one out of service. Keep the 12 cm and 15 cm pairs separated in the tray, because at a glance in a set they look like the same instrument.

Ordering and wholesale

Adas Instruments makes the farabeuf retractor set of 2 to order and supplies hospitals, surgical centers and distributors across the United States, Latin America, Europe and Asia. Item code AP-57.01. State the length, 12 cm or 15 cm, and whether you want the insulated version. 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 is a farabeuf double end retractor used for?

Holding wound edges and soft tissue back at superficial to moderate depth, so the surgeon can see and work. It is used in general, orthopedic, hernia, vascular, pediatric and plastic surgery, and it is supplied as a set of two because an open wound normally has two edges that both need holding.

Is the farabeuf retractor the same as the farabeuf elevator?

No, and this is worth being clear about. Both carry the name of the same French surgeon and they are completely different instruments: this one is a double ended blade retractor, the other is a periosteal elevator for lifting tissue off bone. Our own search data shows people arriving on the bare name looking for the elevator, so if that is what you need, it is a different page.

Should I buy the 12 cm or the 15 cm farabeuf double end retractor?

The 12 cm for smaller incisions and superficial layers, where a longer instrument gets in the way. The 15 cm for deeper tissue, a thick abdominal wall and periosteum. Both are in our own record as a real ordering choice, and most trays end up carrying both because the decision is made by the incision rather than by preference.

What is the insulated farabeuf double end retractor for?

Cases where an electrocautery pencil works close to the blade. A non conductive coating stops stray current passing from steel into the tissue the blade is only holding. It is the same instrument otherwise, and it is carried as an option on both lengths in our own record.

Why is the blade lip rounded?

Because the lip is what takes the load for the whole operation. A square edge concentrates that load into a line and bruises tissue it was never meant to harm; a rounded lip spreads it and lets the blade hold firmly without marking what it holds. It is the difference between a retractor and a lever.

Related products and categories

Buyers who order the farabeuf double end retractor usually order alongside it the mini langenbeck retractor, the senn miller retractor and the us army retractor. The whole family sits in hooks and retractors, and this pattern is also listed under abdominoplasty instruments.