Laparotomy Instrument Set, 98 Pieces

What a laparotomy instrument set is

A laparotomy is an open incision through the abdominal wall, and the set is everything the scrub nurse lays out for it. Bought as a set, the tray arrives counted in one box and goes back into that box counted, so nobody builds it from loose stock on the morning of a case.

Google AI Mode, read on 27 October 2026, describes a laparotomy instrument set as the tools for entering, exposing and handling the abdominal cavity in open surgery, from exploratory operations to major resections. It sorts the contents into five jobs: cutting, clamping, grasping, retracting, and suction with suturing. Our tray covers all five, and the full laparotomy instrument set list is in the table further down.

Buyers also ask for it as a laparotomy set, or simply as laparotomy instruments, and a hospital that keeps one tray for the emergency list may call it an exploratory laparotomy instrument set. Catalogs also file it as an abdominal instrument set. We sell these 98 pieces as the major basic instrument set too. Same box, same price.

Key design features

A Balfour retractor at the center

The Balfour is the one self retaining retractor in this tray, 200 mm across. Once its blades are set in the wound edges it holds the abdomen open by itself, and the assistant’s hands are free. The AI Mode answer calls the Balfour the centerpiece of a laparotomy tray, and on a long case it decides how tired the assistant is at the end.

Hand held retractors for every depth

Thirteen retractors cover every depth the wound reaches. Four Richardson retractors, 24 cm, in two blade sizes, hold the wound edges. Two Deaver retractors, 30.5 cm, lift the liver or the bowel deeper down. Four Volkmann rakes, two with four prongs and two with six, a Roux set and a Parker Langenbeck set handle the shallow layers. Three malleable spatulas guard the bowel while the wound is closed.

32 artery forceps in three weights

There are 20 Halsted mosquito forceps, 12.5 cm, half straight and half curved, for small vessels. Then 8 Crile Rankin forceps, 16 cm, for the middle sizes, and 4 Ochsner Kocher forceps for heavier tissue. Add 10 Backhaus towel forceps to hold the drapes and 4 Foerster sponge holders, and the tray has 46 clamping instruments before a single grasping forceps is counted.

Closing the wound, not only opening it

Four Mayo Hegar needle holders, 16, 18, 18 and 24 cm, let two people suture at once, and the 24 cm one reaches deep closures. A Koenig ligature conductor, a left and a right Deschamps needle and a probe with an eye pass ties around vessels before they are cut. The Yankauer tube keeps the field clear.

The laparotomy instrument set list

All 44 lines of the tray, read off our own contents list on 27 October 2026. The quantities add up to 98 instruments. The box is the 99th item and is not counted as a piece.

Where it is used

The first two columns come from the Google AI Mode answer read on 27 October 2026, the last from our list. Gemini, read on 3 November 2026, places a set like this in general, trauma and gynecologic surgery and surgical oncology, working on the fascia, the peritoneum, the stomach, the bowel and the omentum.

What it is for, and what it is not for

A general tray does most open abdominal work. The table sends the jobs it is not built for to a set of ours that is.

How it compares with the rest of the family

Five open abdominal trays make up this family on our site. The counts are read off each set’s own contents list, and the prices off each product’s order form.

Materials and finish

Every instrument in the set is made from high quality medical grade stainless steel, and the box that holds them is stainless steel too. The steel itself is made to a German specification. We do not publish a grade number.

The contents table on this page doubles as the count sheet, 44 lines and 98 pieces. Keep a printed copy with the tray so the counts before and after a case are made against one list.

Caring for it

Rinse the instruments as soon as the case ends, before blood dries in the joints and the serrations. Open every jointed instrument so the brush reaches the box joints, and run water through the Yankauer tube. Dry everything, lubricate the joints lightly, and steam sterilize the tray with the jointed instruments open on a stringer. Check the count against the contents list before the box is closed.

Ordering and wholesale

The laparotomy 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 is a laparotomy instrument set used for?

It is used for open surgery through the abdominal wall: exploratory operations, resections of the bowel or another organ, and the closure afterwards. It brings the knives, clamps, retractors, suction and needle holders together in one counted box.

What is the price of a laparotomy instrument set?

Ours is 643.65 dollars for all 98 pieces and the stainless steel box. Prices across the trade move with the count, because trays sold under the same name hold very different numbers of instruments, so compare the contents list before the price.

What instruments are commonly used in abdominal surgery?

Scalpel handles and scissors to open and dissect, artery forceps for vessels, Allis and Babcock forceps for tissue and bowel, a Balfour self retaining retractor with Deaver and Richardson retractors, suction, and needle holders to close. This tray carries all of them.

Is the laparotomy instrument set the same as the major basic set?

Yes. Both carry the same 98 pieces, the same sizes and the same counts, at the same price. Some buyers order by the operation and others by the general surgery name, so the tray is listed under both. Either order brings the same box.

How many instruments are in a laparotomy instrument set?

Ours holds 98, in 44 lines, plus the box. Trays sold under this name elsewhere hold fewer or many more. Every line of ours is in the contents table on this page, with its size and quantity, so the count can be checked before you order.

Related products and categories

Three more trays from the same family: the stomach operation instrument set, the major basic instrument set and the gall bladder and bile duct instrument set. Every set we make for open abdominal and general work is in general surgery and abdominal instrument sets, and the trays for other specialties are under surgical instrument sets.