Read Periosteal Elevator, Fine Blade, Tips 2mm to 5mm

What the Read periosteal elevator is

The Read periosteal elevator is a hand instrument used to lift periosteum and soft tissue off bone. Surgeons also call it a Read elevator, a narrow periosteal elevator or simply a periosteal elevator instrument. It is made by Adas Instruments in high quality medical grade stainless steel, and it is reusable and fully autoclavable.

The blade is fine rather than heavy and is supplied in four tip widths from 2 mm to 5 mm, so the same pattern works a narrow strip along a small bone and a broader sweep where the plane is already open.

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 Read periosteal elevator

• Fine blade supplied in 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm and 5 mm tip widths
• Single working end, so the whole hand is behind one blade
• Blunt edge that lifts periosteum in one sheet instead of cutting through it
• Four tip widths from one pattern, which keeps a tray shorter
• Flat knurled handle that shows the blade angle by feel
• 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.

Read elevator sizes and build options

Every tip width below is one we actually ship. Imperial figures are given beside the metric because United States buyers search in inches.

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 Read periosteal elevator by specialty

The Read periosteal 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 Read periosteal 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 Read periosteal elevator compares with other patterns

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

Surgeons who use this pattern usually also hold the Read periosteal elevator double ended, the Joseph periosteal elevator and the Tessier periosteal elevator. The closest relative in the range is the Read periosteal elevator double ended.

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.

Read periosteal 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-51.05 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. The instrument is CE marked.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Read periosteal elevator used for?

It lifts periosteum and soft tissue off bone so the bone can be seen and worked on, in orthopedic, reconstructive and oral and maxillofacial surgery. The fine blade is what separates it from a heavier pattern, because it will follow a small bone without levering the plane open too far.

What tip widths does it come in?

This pattern is supplied in 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm and 5 mm. The narrow tips start a plane in a tight space and the wider tips clear it faster once it is open.

Is a Read elevator single ended or double ended?

This build is single ended, so the whole hand is behind one blade. There is a separate double ended build in the same family when two widths are wanted on one shaft.

Does it cut the periosteum?

No. The working edge is blunt, so the periosteum is separated from the bone and lifted as a sheet. A sheet that comes off whole lies back down afterwards, and a torn one does not.

How do you clean and sterilize a periosteal elevator instrument?

Rinse it in cool water straight after use, clean with a soft brush and a neutral pH enzymatic detergent, rinse in deionized water and dry fully, then steam autoclave at 134 degrees Celsius. Any periosteal elevator surgical instrument is checked against the light for a flat spot before it goes back on a tray.

Related products and categories

Surgeons who work with the Read periosteal elevator usually compare it against the Read periosteal elevator double ended, the Joseph periosteal elevator and the Tessier periosteal elevator. The whole family sits in dissectors and elevators, and this pattern is also listed under rhinoplasty instruments.