Sklar Bailey Rib Contractor, Child
A 5-1/2 inch child sized rib contractor used to draw the ribs together and assist chest wall closure after pediatric thoracic surgery. It is supplied for repeated sterilization and reuse in hospital and clinic settings.
The Sklar Bailey Rib Contractor is a child sized instrument measuring 5-1/2 inches, used to bring separated ribs back together at the end of a pediatric thoracic procedure so the chest wall can be closed securely. Pediatric patients require instruments scaled to their smaller anatomy, and this contractor is built specifically for that purpose rather than being a scaled down adult instrument, which matters for both safe handling and effective rib approximation in a smaller chest cavity.
As with the adult version, it is used following thoracotomy for lung, cardiac, or other intrathoracic surgery, engaging the ribs on either side of the incision and drawing them together under controlled mechanical tension before final suture or wire closure. This instrument is used by pediatric cardiothoracic and general thoracic surgeons and is typically kept in a dedicated pediatric thoracic instrument set alongside other child sized retractors and closure instruments.
It is reprocessed between cases following the same sterilization protocols applied to adult surgical instruments.
