Nasal Elevator, Double Ended Spoon Shaped

What the spoon shaped nasal elevator is

The Spoon shaped nasal elevator is a hand instrument used to separate soft tissue from cartilage and bone inside the nose. Surgeons also call it a nasal spoon elevator, a spoon elevator or a double ended spoon nasal elevator. It is made by Adas Instruments in high quality medical grade stainless steel, and it is reusable and fully autoclavable.

Both working ends are hollowed into a shallow spoon rather than flattened into a blade, so the concave face sits against the curve of the cartilage and lifts a sheet of tissue without a corner digging into it.

The work an elevator does is always the same in principle. A layer of soft tissue is stuck to the cartilage or bone under it, and it has to come off in one sheet without a hole in it. Get that right and the rest of the case has a dry field and a flap that will lie back down. That is why the shape of the working end and the stiffness of the blade decide which pattern a surgeon picks up.

Key design features of the spoon shaped nasal elevator

• A shallow concave spoon at each end rather than a flat spatulate blade
• The hollow face follows the convex curve of septal cartilage instead of fighting it
• No sharp edge anywhere on the instrument, so the plane is separated and not divided
• Two working ends on one shaft, so the instrument is turned rather than swapped
• Flat knurled handle that tells you where the spoon is facing without looking
• High quality medical grade stainless steel, reusable and autoclavable

The handle is flat and knurled rather than round. A flat handle tells you where the blade is facing without looking at it, and the knurling holds when a glove is wet. The shaft runs straight into the blade with no step, so there is no shoulder to catch on the rim of a nostril and nothing for protein to sit in after a case.

Spoon shaped elevator sizes and build options

The build below is the one we ship. Overall length is confirmed on the quotation rather than printed here, because this pattern is made to order for OEM runs and the shaft length is set by the run.

Nothing is listed above that we do not hold. If a build you need is not in the table, ask, because a pattern like this is often made to order for an OEM run and a change of size is a tooling change rather than a new instrument.

Uses of the spoon shaped nasal elevator by specialty

The spoon shaped nasal elevator appears on the same trays across these specialties because the job is the same one each time, lifting a tissue plane cleanly off what lies under it.

The specialty name and the procedure name are both worth knowing when you order, because catalogues file this pattern under whichever of the two the buyer used. An operating room manager searches by procedure and a purchasing office searches by specialty, and they are looking for the same instrument.

Tissue planes the spoon shaped nasal elevator works in

An elevator handles no suture and no needle. What decides the choice of pattern is the plane it has to open and how much force that plane takes.

Force is the part nobody writes down. Perichondrium on young cartilage lifts with almost nothing, while mucoperiosteum on bone needs a firm push and a stiff blade behind it. Match the blade to the plane and the instrument does the work instead of your wrist.

How the spoon shaped nasal elevator compares with other patterns

These four sit next to each other on a nasal tray and they are not interchangeable.

Surgeons who use this pattern usually also hold the double ended nasal elevator, the Cottle septum elevator and the Freer septum elevator. The closest relative in the range is the Cottle septum elevator.

If you are building a tray from scratch, the usual answer is two elevators rather than one. Something light for cartilage and something stiffer for bone covers almost every case.

Materials and finish

The instrument is made in high quality medical grade stainless steel. The steel itself is made to a German specification. The blade is flat ground and satin finished, which cuts glare under the lights in an operating room and keeps the working end readable against wet tissue. There is no coating to chip and nothing on the shaft to trap protein.

Stainless steel is chosen here for a reason that has nothing to do with appearance. An elevator is levered, and a levered instrument that is too hard will crack at the neck while one that is too soft will take a set and stay bent. The grade used sits between the two.

Spoon shaped nasal elevator care and sterilization

Rinse the instrument in cool water straight after use so blood does not dry on the blade. Clean it with a soft brush and a neutral pH enzymatic detergent, rinse in deionized water, then dry it completely. Steam autoclave at 134 degrees Celsius. Lay it in the tray so the blades do not rest against other instruments, because a bruised edge on an elevator is what tears a flap.

Look at the working end against the light before every case. A blunt end should be smooth with no flat spot and no nick, and a working edge should still sit flat on bone. An elevator that has been dropped on a tiled floor is the one that buttonholes a flap two cases later, and it costs nothing to check.

Ordering and wholesale

This pattern is supplied by Adas Instruments to hospitals, surgical distributors and OEM buyers, in single units and in bulk. The item code is AN-55.06 and it is printed in the size table above so a procurement search finds it. Backorder items dispatch in 10 to 12 working days. Every instrument carries a three year replacement against manufacturing defects.

For wholesale and OEM orders, instruments ship unpackaged in bulk or individually poly bagged, and laser marking with a distributor code or a hospital asset number is available on the shaft. Tell us the quantity and the marking you need and the quotation comes back with the lead time for that run rather than a stock figure.

Production is controlled under an ISO 13485 quality management system.

Frequently asked questions

What is a spoon shaped nasal elevator used for?

It raises the mucoperichondrial and mucoperiosteal flaps off the nasal septum and the nasal floor in septoplasty and rhinoplasty. The hollow face is the reason it is picked over a flat blade, because a concave end follows the curve of cartilage and lifts a whole sheet instead of pressing a corner into it.

How is a nasal spoon elevator different from a flat blade elevator?

A flat spatulate blade meets a convex surface at two points and its corners carry the load. A spoon elevator meets the same surface along the whole hollow, which spreads the force and is why it is chosen for the nasal floor and the curved part of the septum.

Does a spoon elevator have a sharp edge?

No. There is no sharp edge anywhere on this pattern, so it separates a plane and does not divide it. The first incision through the perichondrium is made with a knife or with a sharp ended elevator before this instrument is used.

Is it double ended?

Yes. This is a double ended spoon nasal elevator, so it carries a spoon at each end of one shaft and the surgeon turns the instrument in the hand rather than putting it down and picking up another one.

How do you clean and sterilize it?

Rinse it in cool water straight after use so blood does not dry in the hollow of the spoon, clean it with a soft brush and a neutral pH enzymatic detergent, rinse in deionized water and dry it fully. It is then steam autoclaved at 134 degrees Celsius.

Related products and categories

Surgeons who work with the spoon shaped nasal elevator usually compare it against the double ended nasal elevator, the Cottle septum elevator and the Freer septum elevator. The whole family sits in dissectors and elevators, and this pattern is also listed under rhinoplasty instruments.