Maxwell Flap Retractor, 22 mm and 38 mm, 4 Sharp Prongs

What the maxwell flap retractor is

The maxwell flap retractor is a short hand held rake. The working end is four sharp prongs on a curved handle with a finger hold, and our own record carries it at 22 mm and 38 mm with the prongs set in line or offset.

One thing has to be cleared up before anything else on this page, because it is printed wrong nearly everywhere including in the name this product used to carry. Catalogs list the head width under the word blade. There is no blade. The working end is a rake with four sharp points, and our own product attributes have always said so.

The other defining figure is the length. At about 10 cm this is a short instrument, which puts the hand close to the work and leaves room in a crowded field, and that is the reason a surgeon picks it over a longer rake.

Key design features of this 4 prong flap retractor

Four features, and two of them come from our own attribute table.

• Four sharp prongs. A rake head, not a blade, whatever the catalog column says.
• Two head widths. 22 mm and 38 mm, both in our own record.
• In line or offset. Also in our own record, so it is a real ordering choice rather than a range.
• A short curved handle with a finger hold. About 10 cm overall, for close control in a tight field.

Maxwell flap retractor sizes

Four of these rows are our own product record, which is more than most pages in this family can say.

Our record gives the four head and prong combinations and no overall length. Published figures put this pattern at about 10 cm or 4 inches, and that is not repeated here as ours. It is the figure that makes the instrument what it is, so it is worth asking for.

Where a maxwell retractor is used

A maxwell retractor turns up wherever a flap has been undermined and the field is tight.

What the prongs hold, and what they do not

Four sharp points on a narrow head have a clear brief, and clear limits either side of it.

How this skin flap rake retractor compares with the rest of the family

Five of the six rows are instruments we make. A skin flap rake retractor at this length sits between the full size Freeman and the fine skin hooks.

Materials and finish

Made from high quality medical grade stainless steel, satin finished so the operating light does not reflect off the shaft into the field. The steel itself is made to a German specification. The prongs are ground to a point and polished, and the finger hold is deburred, because a short instrument is held tightly and an unfinished edge on the grip is felt through a glove within minutes.

Care and sterilization

Clean with a soft brush under running water, working between the prongs and around the finger hold where glove debris collects, then rinse in deionized water and dry fully before autoclaving. Store on a rack or under a tip guard so the points rest against nothing. Check the four prongs as a set: one bent out of line takes the flap at a different depth and puts the load back onto three.

Ordering and wholesale

Adas Instruments makes the maxwell rake retractor patterns to order and supplies hospitals, surgical centers and distributors across the United States, Latin America, Europe and Asia. Item code AP-65.01. State the head width and whether you want in line or offset prongs. 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 maxwell flap retractor used for?

Holding an undermined skin flap back in a tight field. It is used in facelift and neck lift surgery and in breast flap work, and the short handle is what makes it the choice when there is not room for a longer rake beside the operating hand.

Does the maxwell flap retractor have a blade or prongs?

Prongs. Four sharp ones. Catalogs and supplier listings print the head width under a column headed blade, and that heading is simply wrong for this instrument. Our own product attributes describe prongs, and so do the published descriptions once you read past the table heading.

22 mm or 38 mm?

38 mm where the flap is broad and fewer repositions are worth having. 22 mm where the pocket is narrow or the flap is thin, because a narrow head places accurately and puts less tissue under tension at once. Both widths come in line or offset, so our record carries four real combinations.

How is a maxwell flap retractor different from a freeman rake retractor?

Length and width. The Freeman 40 mm is a wider head on a shaft roughly twice as long. The Maxwell is 22 or 38 mm on about 10 cm. Reach for the Freeman in an open field and the Maxwell when the field is crowded and the hand has to be close to the work.

Will the prongs damage the flap?

They pierce it, which is how a rake holds anything, and in practice they are placed in tissue that is about to be trimmed or on the deep surface rather than the skin face. Where nothing may be pierced, use a smooth blade pattern instead. That is a real difference between the two halves of this family.

Related products and categories

Buyers who order the maxwell flap retractor usually order alongside it the ferreira face lift retractor, the freeman rake retractor 40 mm and the freeman rake retractors 40mm small. The whole family sits in hooks and retractors, and this pattern is also listed under breast surgery instruments.