A new suction instrument for spinal surgery.

OBJECTIVE

Spinal surgical procedures share the technical difficulty of having to preserve the integrity of the dura mater in a surgical field with different degrees of hemorrhage. This difficulty is particularly evident in the surgery of degenerative diseases.

METHODS

We have developed a new surgical sucker that allows an easy dissection of the dural sac from adjacent structures and improves the overall surgical manipulation during degenerative lumbar spinal procedures. The present technical note describes this newly developed suction device that comprises a slightly oval spatula positioned at an angle of 30° to the bore of the suction tube.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

Attending to the combination of a spatula and a suction device, it offers several advantages when compared to the instruments that are currently available. Namely, it facilitates the dissection of the ligamentum flavum from the subjacent dura mater, separating and holding this ligamentum from the dura mater; it also allows a slight retraction of the dural sac without direct suction and a better illumination of the surgical field through light reflected from the spatula.