Sklar Bailey-Gibbon Rib Contractor, Adult
An adult sized rib contractor used to bring the ribs together and help close the chest wall following thoracic surgery. It is supplied for repeated sterilization and reuse in hospital and clinic settings.
The Sklar Bailey-Gibbon Rib Contractor is an adult sized thoracic instrument used at the end of a chest procedure to draw the separated ribs back together before the chest wall is closed with sutures or wire. After a thoracotomy, the ribs are spread apart to allow access to the chest cavity, and bringing them back into their normal anatomical position needs a controlled, steady mechanical action rather than manual force alone, which is what this contractor provides.
Its design allows the surgical team to engage the ribs on either side of the incision and gradually close the gap, reducing tension on the closure sutures and helping restore normal chest wall alignment. This instrument is used by cardiothoracic and general thoracic surgeons as a routine part of chest closure following lung resection, cardiac surgery accessed through a thoracotomy, or other open chest procedures.
It is a mechanical, reusable instrument kept in dedicated thoracic surgery sets and reprocessed between cases following standard hospital sterilization.
