Towel Clamps
Towel-clamp forceps or simply towel clamps are used to maintain surgical
towels and drapes in the correct position during an operation. They are
locking type forceps with curved ends. The beak may be pointed or blunt and
flat. They may even overlap in closed position. An important type of towel
clamp forceps is Backhaus towel clamp which is a kind of locking forceps
with curved, pointed tips.
Materials
There are different varieties of towel clamp forceps in different sizes
which are employed in surgical procedures. Many of the towel clamps are made
of stainless steel or other sterilizable materials which can be recovered,
autoclaved or sterilized, and reused.
Importance of towel clamps
There are many surgical clamps available in the market which generate
excessive closing pressures in their usual closed position. This might cause
damage to the delicate walls of pinched blood vessels. There are some
surgical clamps which require special tools for opening the jaws of the
clamp to receive a blood vessel. There are some which require another tool
to re-open and remove the clamps when the surgical procedure is completed.
In order to avoid such disadvantages, most surgeons now prefer to use towel
clamp forceps.
Towel clamp forceps are used to connect toweling which drapes or covers
those regions of a surgical patient's anatomy which are not exposed during
the surgical procedure. The towel is usually made from non-woven fabric and
intended to be discarded after a single use. In order to secure the towels
during any surgical operation, it becomes necessary to use towel clamps
which are recovered after each operation for sterilization and reuse.
