Uses of Hemostat

Various types of hemostats are currently in use. Although a hemostat-like pliers
is used by fishermen and workers in a number of occupations, hemostats are primarily used in surgery. Surgeons use them to stop bleeding in a blood vessel until it can be sewn or tied shut.

Types of Hemostats

• Hemostats are made in a large number of sizes and styles. Most are made of stainless steel with polished surfaces. One handle usually has a serrated edge. This enables the user to clamp onto and hold objects with varying degrees of thickness. They are made with straight, curved or specially designed tips. Hemostats are sometimes replaced for surgical use with other materials, including absorbable gelatin foams and cellulose.

Some Surgical Uses

• One of the most common means for contraception is vasectomy. Using hemostats to hold open a small incision in the skin, a physician can sever a man's vas deferens, thereby preventing sperm from entering his ejaculate. A hemostat with a bead-like tip is used to perform male circumcisions. This tends to cause less trauma than straight-tipped instruments.

  In any major surgery that involves the cutting of blood vessels, hemostats will be used. In laparoscopic surgeries, which are done through a small incision in the skin, hemostats are used to hold the skin flaps open. Another hemostat is then used to manipulate the needle used to sew the wound shut.

Optical Lens Uses

• Astronomy depends on lenses that are as clean as they can possibly be made. Cleaning the optics of a telescope requires exacting procedures. One of the required tools central to this process is a hemostat.

Animal Care Uses

• Carnivorous reptiles require the proper temperature to feed and food appropriate for their species. If you have a snake that will not feed, dangling prey from a hemostat in front of it may cause it to eat.

Food Inspection Uses

• Testing meat for microbial contamination is an ongoing task of the Department of Agriculture. The safety and shelf life of food prepared for the public requires careful examination. Sterilized hemostats are an important part of any inspection routine.

Manufacturing Uses

• Soldering is common to many manufacturing processes. There are many different soldering techniques required. One rule that applies to all of them is "don't burn your fingers." To prevent this mishap, hemostats are frequently used.

  Hemostats have many and varied uses from household to hospital to manufacturing plant.