Marx Breast Retractor, Solid Curved Blade, 125 x 30 mm and 140 x 30 mm

What the marx breast retractor is

The marx breast retractor is a handheld retractor with one broad solid blade, curved along its length, and a smooth rolled lip at the working end.

The width is the Marx design. Breast tissue is dense and heavy, and a narrow blade puts all of that weight onto a thin line of flap, which is how a retractor leaves a mark that outlasts the operation. Thirty millimeters of blade spreads the same load across an area instead.

The rolled lip is the second half of it. A heavy flap held on a flat edge creeps off it; a lip gives the tissue something to sit behind without the edge cutting into it.

Key design features of this mammaplasty retractor

Four features on the Marx, and two of them are the ordering choice.

• A broad solid blade, 30 mm across. Load spread rather than concentrated.
• Two blade lengths. 125 mm and 140 mm, both from our own record.
• A curve along the blade. It follows the shape of the chest wall rather than fighting it, so the flap sits on the blade instead of sliding along it.
• A smooth rolled lip. It holds without an edge, which on breast skin matters more than on almost any other tissue.

Breast surgery retractor sizes and blade options

Five rows of this table are ours. Only the last one is not.

Our own Blade Size attribute carries both 125 mm by 30 mm and 140 mm by 30 mm, and those are the two sizes this pattern is published in everywhere else as well. The overall length is a different matter: our record does not carry one, so the figure other catalogs publish is not repeated here as ours.

Where a mammoplasty breast retractor is used

One field, and a long list of procedures the Marx is used in.

What the marx breast retractor holds, and what it protects

On a breast retractor the protecting column is about pressure, and pressure on a flap is measured over an area rather than at a point.

How this pattern compares with the rest of the breast family

Five of the seven rows are our own pages. The Marx is the widest plain blade we make for the breast, and the others exist because there are jobs a wide plain blade cannot do.

Marx breast retractor materials and finish

Made from high quality medical grade stainless steel, satin finished, and on a blade this wide the finish is not cosmetic: a polished 30 mm face under an operating lamp reflects straight back into the field. The steel itself is made to a German specification. The lip is rolled and polished, because a burr on the edge that sits against breast skin is a fault that shows up on the patient.

Caring for a marx breast retractor

Clean with a soft brush under running water, working along the concave face and around the lip where tissue and fat collect. Rinse in deionized water and dry fully before autoclaving. Store flat or on a rack so the blade is not bent, because a curve that has been knocked out of true no longer sits on the chest wall the way it should. Check the lip every time: run a fingertip along it before the instrument goes back in the tray, because a nick you can feel is a nick that will mark a flap, and a marx breast retractor that has been dropped on a hard floor is worth inspecting along the whole curve rather than only at the tip.

Ordering a marx breast retractor, and wholesale

Adas Instruments makes the marx breast retractor to order and supplies hospitals, surgical centers and distributors across the United States, Latin America, Europe and Asia. State the blade size, 125 mm by 30 mm or 140 mm by 30 mm. 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 marx breast retractor used for?

Holding a breast skin and fat flap back so the surgeon can work underneath it. It is used in reduction mammaplasty, breast augmentation, mastopexy, reconstruction after mastectomy, oncological breast surgery and gynecomastia surgery.

Which marx breast retractor blade size should I order?

Our record carries 125 mm by 30 mm and 140 mm by 30 mm. Both are 30 mm wide, so the choice is reach rather than load: the 140 mm is for a larger breast or a deeper pocket where the shorter blade stops short of where you need to be. If you are ordering one, the 125 mm covers more cases.

Why is the blade 30 mm wide?

Because breast tissue is heavy and pressure is force divided by area. The same flap held on a 12 mm blade presses through less than half the tissue, and it is the narrow blade that leaves a mark. Width is not about strength here, it is about spreading a load that is already there.

Is a marx breast retractor the same as a mammaplasty retractor?

Mammaplasty retractor is the class and Marx is one pattern inside it. Every retractor on this page comparison table is a mammaplasty retractor of some kind. If a set list simply says mammaplasty retractor, ask which blade shape is meant before you order.

Does it come with a light?

No. This is the plain wide blade. For light, and for suction to clear cautery smoke, that is our ADAS LumaPocket breast retractor, and for a blade with an endoscope channel through it, the Sculpo mammaplasty retractor.

Related products and categories

Buyers who order the marx breast retractor usually look next at the sculpo mammaplasty retractor, the tebbetts breast retractor and the c circular breast retractor. The whole family sits in hooks and retractors, and this pattern is also listed under breast surgery instruments.