Freeman Flap Retractor, 13 mm and 24 mm, Fiberoptic or Standard

What the freeman flap retractor is

The freeman flap retractor holds an elevated flap back on a smooth blade. There are no prongs anywhere on it, and that absence is the entire design brief.

A rake holds a flap by piercing it, which is fine on tissue that is about to be trimmed and wrong on tissue that has to survive. A blade holds the same flap by supporting it from underneath, so nothing is pierced, the skin edge is untouched and the blood supply running through the flap is not interrupted by four points of tension.

The blade itself is deep set with a slight downward curve at the tip. That curve is what stops it pressing a hard line across the flap: the tissue sits into the hollow of the blade rather than folding over its edge.

Key design features of this flap retractor

Four features, and our own record carries two of them as ordering options.

• A smooth blade. No prongs, no teeth, nothing that pierces.
• A deep set, downward curved tip. Cradles the flap instead of pressing across it.
• Two blade widths. 13 mm and 24 mm, both in our own record.
• A fiberoptic option. With or without a light carrier, also in our own record, which puts light under the flap rather than over it.

Freeman flap retractor sizes and the fiberoptic option

Every line of this table is our own product record.

Four combinations, and all four are real ordering choices rather than a range we have quoted from elsewhere. Our record gives no overall length; other catalogs put this pattern at about 20 cm, which is not repeated here as ours.

Where a flap retractor is used

A flap retractor is not only a facial instrument, and the list below is wider than the category it sits in.

What the blade holds, and what it does not

A smooth blade has the opposite strengths to a rake, and the honest way to put that is side by side.

How the fiber optic flap retractor compares with the rest of the family

Five of the six rows are our own. The row that matters is the first one, because the choice between a fiber optic flap retractor and a pronged rake is made on what the flap has to survive.

Materials and finish

Made from high quality medical grade stainless steel, satin finished, which on a blade instrument matters more than usual: a polished blade under an operating light reflects straight back up into the surgeon eye. The steel itself is made to a German specification. The blade edges are rolled rather than left as cut, because an edge that is square will mark a flap even though it never pierces one.

Care and sterilization

Clean with a soft brush under running water, paying attention to the hollow of the blade and, on the lit version, the light post and the channel behind it. Rinse in deionized water and dry fully before autoclaving. Follow the light cable manufacturer instructions for the cable itself. Check the blade for any new nick along the edge, because a smooth blade that is no longer smooth has lost the one property it was chosen for.

Ordering and wholesale

Adas Instruments makes this pattern to order and supplies hospitals, surgical centers and distributors across the United States, Latin America, Europe and Asia. Item code AP-56.130. State the blade width and whether you want the fiberoptic 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 freeman flap retractor used for?

Holding an elevated flap back without piercing it. It is used in facelift and neck lift surgery, in breast reconstruction and augmentation, and in abdominoplasty, which is why it is the one instrument in this family that turns up on three different sets.

How is a freeman flap retractor different from a freeman face lift retractor?

Prongs against a blade, and they are two different instruments that happen to share a surname. The face lift retractor is a four pronged rake that grips by piercing. The flap retractor is a smooth blade that supports from underneath. Catalogs list both under Freeman, so say blade or say prongs when you order.

What does the fiberoptic version give you?

Light where the retractor already is. An overhead light throws the surgeon own hands as a shadow into the pocket they are trying to see; a light carrier in the blade puts the light under the flap, at the tip, with nothing in front of it. On deep or narrow pockets that is the difference between seeing the plane and feeling for it.

13 mm or 24 mm?

24 mm for an open flap where a wider blade means fewer repositions and lower pressure per square millimeter. 13 mm where the pocket is narrow or the flap is small. Both widths are available with or without the light, so the four combinations in the size table are the whole range.

Can a freeman flap retractor be used on breast flaps?

Yes, and it often is. A raised breast flap and a raised facial flap present the same problem, which is tissue that has to be held out of the way and has to keep its blood supply. The blade and the curve do the same job on both.

Related products and categories

Buyers who order the freeman flap retractor usually order alongside it the biggs face lift retractor, the freeman face lift retractor and the freeman face lift retractor small. The whole family sits in hooks and retractors, and the lit version is also listed under fiber optic instruments.