Surgical Needles

Contents
1) Anatomy of A Surgical Needle
2) Ideal Characteristics Of A Needle
3) Shapes/Angle of Curvature
4) Points
5) Guidelines For Selection.
6) Suturing Technique

Anatomy of a Surgical
Needle

IDEAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A NEEDLE

Made of high quality stainless steel as thin as
possible without compromising strength.
Stable in the grasp of a needle holder.
Able to carry suture material through tissue
minimal trauma.
Sharp enough to penetrate tissue with minimal
resistance.
Rigid to resist bending
Ductile to resist breaking during surgery.
Sterile and corrosion resistant no micro
organism, no foreign materials.

Needle Shapes

Needle Points
1. Cutting points : the cutting edge is on the concave surface. It
is used when tissue is difficult to penetrate such as skin and
tendon
2. Reverse cutting: the cutting edge is on the convex surface
and is ideal for skin, tendon sheath, or oral mucosa. Reverse
cutting needles have more strength than conventional, and a
reduced risk of cutting through tissue.
3. Taper point : used in soft tissue such as intestine and
peritoneum, the sharp point is at the tip of needle
4. Blunt point : used for suturing friable tissue such as liver and
kidney

Conventional vs Reverse
Cutting
Conventional Cutting

Cutting edge
on inside of
circle
Skin
Traumatic

Reverse Cutting

Cutting edge on
outside of circle
Skin
Less traumatic
than cutting

Blunt vs Lancet

Taper point vs Trocar point

General Guidelines for Selection of

Needle

References
Bailey & Loves Short Practice of
Surgery
http://midlevelu.com/blog/suturing101-needles-sizes-and-materials