Plester Mastoid Retractor, Self Retaining, Post Aural

What a Plester mastoid retractor is

A plester mastoid retractor is a self retaining retractor with prongs on one arm and a solid flat blade on the other, made for the incision behind the ear. It holds itself open, which in mastoid surgery is not a convenience: the opening is small, the microscope is already over it, and a hand holding a retractor is a hand not holding anything else.

Catalogues list the same instrument as the Plester self retaining retractor, and the British makers sell this pattern as the Plester Jansen. All three names mean the asymmetric post aural retractor. Ours is made in our own workshop and sold direct, which is the reason it is priced where it is rather than where the catalogue houses put it.

Key design features

The two arms are deliberately different

Most retractors are symmetrical and this one is not, which is the reason it exists. Behind the ear you hold two things that behave nothing alike: periosteum, which is tough and will take a prong, and the muscle flap, which is soft and slumps straight back over the bone the moment anything lets go of it. So one arm carries prongs and the other a solid blade.

The lock, and what we will not claim about it

Open the arms to where you want them and it stays there. Release it and it closes. That is as much as we will put in writing, because catalogues describe this family as both a ratchet and a screw lock and our own data does not say which ours is. Better short than guessing at a mechanism.

Ring handles, because of the microscope

The handles are flat rings rather than uprights. In mastoid work the operating microscope sits directly over the field and anything standing up off the patient is in the way of the objective. Flat rings keep the whole instrument low, and they also give you somewhere to hook a finger when the field has to be opened a little further mid case.

One piece, with nothing to come loose

The frame, the arms and the blade are made as one: no screwed on blade, no pinned prong carrier. That matters on an instrument sprung open under load and then run through a washer. A screw that backs off a quarter turn is a blade at the wrong angle, and nobody notices until it is open in a patient.

What to tell us when you order one

This product does not carry a size attribute on our site, so rather than print a length we hold no data for, here is what to tell us and what we will do if you are not sure.

Where it is used

One approach, and the operations that use it. This is a post aural instrument and it does not pretend to be a general tray retractor.

What it holds, and what it must not pinch

A retractor that holds itself open holds whatever is in the prongs for as long as the case runs, which is exactly why the second column matters.

How it compares with the other mastoid and ENT patterns

Five patterns get asked for by name behind the ear. Four of them we make and the fifth we do not, and the fifth is the one with the most searches.

Materials and finish

Every plester mastoid retractor we make is cut from high quality medical grade stainless steel. The steel itself is made to a German specification. We do not publish a grade number, because the number on a certificate tells a surgeon nothing about whether the lock still holds after two hundred autoclave cycles, and the answer to that is in the teeth and the finish rather than in the alloy.

The teeth of the lock are cut and then hardened, and that is the part of this instrument that decides how long it lasts. A lock that rounds off opens under load halfway through a case, and the surgeon finds out at the worst moment. The prongs are ground and then polished by hand, because a prong with a burr on it tears periosteum instead of holding it, and the finish is satin rather than mirror so the microscope light does not come straight back up the objective.

Caring for it

Open the arms fully before it goes anywhere near a washer. A self retaining retractor closed on itself traps blood in the teeth of the lock, and dried blood in a lock is why these instruments start to slip. Open, brushed at the hinge and at every tooth, then ultrasonic with a neutral pH enzymatic detergent.

Rinse in deionized water and dry fully before packing, arms still open. Autoclave at 134 degrees Celsius. Lubricate the hinge after drying, not before. Check the lock by opening it halfway and pushing the arms together: it should not give at all. A lock that creeps is a retractor to retire, and we replace it inside the three years.

Ordering and wholesale

Every Plester mastoid retractor we sell is made in our own workshop and sold direct, which is why the price sits where it does against the catalogue 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, and we will hold a run to your pattern rather than ours if you send a sample. 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 mastoid retractor used for?

Holding the incision behind the ear open, hands free, while the surgeon works on the mastoid bone or the middle ear. That means mastoidectomy, tympanoplasty, stapes surgery and the post aural approach for a cochlear implant. The point of a self retaining pattern is that nobody has to stand there holding it for the length of the case.

What is another name for a mastoid retractor?

It depends which pattern you mean, and they are not interchangeable. Ours is listed as the Plester retractor, the Plester self retaining retractor, and by British makers as the Plester Jansen. The other common mastoid patterns are the Jansen and the Mollison, different instruments with the same job.

What is a Jansen mastoid retractor used for?

The same operations as this one, and we will say plainly that we do not make it. The Jansen is the closely related post aural pattern and it is the more searched name of the two. Some catalogues sell the instrument on this page as the Plester Jansen, which is why the two names run together, but if your list specifies a Jansen then ask us before ordering rather than assume this is it.

What is the difference between a Plester and a Weitlaner retractor?

The arms. A Weitlaner carries prongs on both sides and is the general purpose self retaining retractor; a Plester carries prongs on one side and a solid flat blade on the other. That blade is the difference, and it is there because a muscle flap behind the ear will fall back over the bone if only prongs are holding it. Both use the same ring handled frame and the same lock.

Which prong configuration should I order?

Blunt is the usual answer for post aural work, because the facial nerve is close and a sharp prong that slips is worse than one that holds slightly less well. Sharp prongs suit tough superficial tissue that a blunt prong walks off. This product does not carry a size or prong attribute on our site, so tell us the operation and the hand you need and we will confirm it from the workshop rather than guess for you.

Related products and categories

For the same pattern with the solid blade on the other side, see the Plester left solid blade retractor. Where the field is shallow and prongs are wanted on both arms, the Wullstein self retaining retractor is the compact choice, and the Williger self retaining retractor is the plain self retaining frame for soft tissue exposure. The rest of the family sits in self retaining retractors, and the ear patterns are listed under ear instruments.