Vaginal Construction Instrument Set, Skin Graft, 26 Pieces

What a vaginal construction instrument set is

A vaginal construction instrument set is the tray used to create a vagina where one is absent or too short, by dissecting a space and lining it with a skin graft. Google’s own summary names the usual operation, the McIndoe technique, and the usual reason, vaginal agenesis such as MRKH syndrome. It also notes that a full setup bridges plastic surgery and gynecology, because a graft has to be taken and prepared as well as placed.

That is where this set needs reading carefully. Ours is the gynecology half: the instruments for the dissection, the graft handling and the closure. It does not carry a dermatome or a skin graft knife to take the graft, and it does not carry the mold or stent the graft is sewn over. Where a plastic surgery team takes the graft for a McIndoe vaginoplasty, it normally uses its own dermatome, so we leave one out rather than charge for a second.

The McIndoe procedure has two stages in one sitting. A space is opened between the bladder and the rectum, and a thin skin graft, usually from the buttock or thigh, is sewn over a mold and placed in it. The instruments that matter most are the fine ones: the iris scissors that trim the graft and the Adson forceps that hold it without crushing it.

Our record lists this set with the note F.Skin Graft. We have not expanded that abbreviation into a claim about graft thickness, because the instruments suit either a split or a full thickness graft.

Because these operations are rare in any one hospital, the tray is often bought by a regional center that does them for a wide area. That has a practical effect on ordering: a center doing a handful of cases a year needs one vaginal construction instrument set, but it should be kept complete and separate rather than raided for its iris scissors on a busy day. A missing iris scissor is a small thing on a general tray and a real problem on this one, where it is the instrument the graft depends on.

Key design features

Iris scissors for the graft

Two iris scissors, 11.5 cm, sharp and sharp, one straight and one curved. They trim the graft to size and cut fine sutures at the graft edge. Small, light scissors give the control a thin graft needs.

Adson forceps that do not crush

Two Adson tissue forceps, 12 cm, with 1×2 teeth. The fine teeth hold the graft edge at a single point, so the graft is lifted rather than pinched. A crushed graft edge is where a graft fails to take.

Eight Mosquitoes, straight and curved

Four straight and four curved Halsted-Mosquito forceps, 12.5 cm. The dissection of the new space is done close to the bladder and rectum, and the curved Mosquitoes catch vessels in a deep, narrow field.

Long curved dressing forceps

Four Gross-Maier dressing forceps, 27 cm, curved, reach to the top of the new space to place swabs and to guide the mold. Two Mayo-Hegar needle holders, 18 cm and 20 cm, sew the graft to the mold and close the opening. Six Backhaus towel forceps and a No.3 scalpel handle complete the set.

What is in the tray, piece by piece

Read off our own pattern record for item AD-95553. Twenty six pieces, the box counted separately.

Where the set is used

Every use below is reconstructive, and most are planned well in advance by a team that includes plastic surgery.

What it does, and what it must not be asked to do

Fine instruments for a fragile graft. The limits below protect it.

How it compares with the other vaginal sets

This is the only tray among our vaginal sets with graft instruments.

Materials and finish

Every piece in this vaginal construction instrument set is made from high quality medical grade stainless steel. The steel itself is made to a German specification. We do not publish a grade number. On a graft tray the question that matters is whether the iris scissors still cut cleanly at the very tip, because a graft trimmed with a chewing scissor has a ragged edge that takes poorly.

The iris scissors are set by hand so the blades meet right to the point. The Adson teeth are fine and even, so the two sides meet without a gap. The dressing forceps are long but light, which helps a surgeon working at full reach inside a narrow space.

Caring for it

Keep the iris scissors and the Adson forceps apart from the heavier pieces when washing and packing. A knock against a needle holder is enough to bend a fine tip. Open every ratchet for washing and the autoclave.

Test the iris scissors on a strip of wet gauze before each list. If they fold the gauze instead of cutting it, send them back with the item code for sharpening. Fine scissors are worth checking more often than heavy ones, because they lose their edge faster.

Ordering and wholesale

Every piece of the vaginal construction instrument set is made by Adas Instruments in our own workshop and sold direct, which is why the price sits where it does against the catalog 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. Send us a sample and we will hold a run to your pattern rather than ours. 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 McIndoe vaginoplasty?

An operation that creates a vagina by opening a space between the bladder and the rectum and lining it with a skin graft sewn over a mold. It is the usual approach for vaginal agenesis, and this tray carries its gynecology instruments.

Does the set include a dermatome or graft knife?

No. The graft is usually taken with the plastic surgery unit’s own dermatome. This vaginal construction instrument set carries the dissection, graft handling and closure instruments.

Is a vaginal mold included?

No. Molds and stents are a separate item, sized for each patient. The set holds the long dressing forceps used to guide one into place.

Why Adson forceps rather than Allis?

Because a skin graft is thin and fragile. Adson forceps hold the edge at one point; Allis forceps grip a wider area and would crush it.

What does F.Skin Graft mean on the set name?

It is the abbreviation on our own record. We have not turned it into a claim about graft thickness, because the instruments suit either a split or a full thickness graft.

Related products and categories

For fistula work, the vesicovaginal fistula repair instrument set carries the fine fistula instruments. The major vaginal repair instrument set is our full vaginal tray, and the vaginal closure instrument set is the closure tray.

All of our trays for this specialty sit under gynecology and obstetrics instrument sets, and the full range of procedure trays is under surgical instrument sets.