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The surgical needle David O’ReganAnatomy of the needle Centre of rotation Tip Chord or length of needle Point ratio of up Swage 12:1 (body width to tip) BodyIdeal needle • Sharp to pass through any material • Separating but not cutting tissue • Rigid but ductile to resist distortion • Stable in the needle holder – cross section not round and sometime body striated • Corrosion resistant - steel and alloys • Ethicon tungsten / iridium alloy • Can be sterilised • Reduced drag in tissue • Covered in silicon lubricantThe swage • Original needle with eye • Wide • Difficult to thread • Crimping of metal to hold material – cat gut, silk • George Fowlie Merson FRSE FPS FCS (1866–1959) was a Scottish pharmacist who produced an artificial surgical catgut produced at home in his kitchen • Around 1929 he invented the swage • Acquired by Johnson and Johnson in 1940’s and become Ethicon • Thickest part of the needle to date • Ethicon has found a way to reduce the size so that it is now less than the body of the needle • Drilled • Laser hole at 6 per second The point • Increasing technology Blunt Cutting Hybrids • Increasing penetration and less disruption to tissues needed for calcified vessels Round Regular cut Taper Premium Diamond cuts cuts cuts Taper Reverse cutting point Spatula cut for Direction of cut ophthalmic surgery Soft friable tissue or solid organs Fibrous tissue or Cannot afford leaks fascia or tendons e.g. GI, vessels, dura The body of the needle Curve of needles in eights from inches Increasing depth Cross section of body of the needle Increasing grip