Austin retractor

May 06, 2021

  

Austin retractors are medical instruments that are commonly found in a tray set-up for a oral surgery procedure. A dental surgeon needs to have a good access and visibility to the surgical site. This surgical site can be at the deeper areas in the mouth, like the most posteriorly (backwards) placed teeth. It becomes even more challenging when the patient has a limited mouth opening, an abnormally large tongue, presence of a swelling or tumour, etc.

Gaining access to the surgical site is of prime concern in surgeries like removal of impacted wisdom teeth, removal of cyst or tumour, surgeries involving upper or lower jaw bone, etc. In order to have the needed visibility, dental surgeons use Austin retractors.

These are L-shaped instruments with one working and one non-working end. The working end can be shaped like a half moon, can be forked or can be of a regular rectangular pattern. These retractors are used such that soft tissues like cheeks, lips and the periosteal flaps are displaced away or retracted from the surgical area. The periosteal flaps are those tissues that are incised and raised in order to expose the underlying structures. The L-shape helps in better handling of te instrument. A half moon patterned working end is used when retraction of soft issues needs to be done without risk in any trauma or injury to that tissue. A forked and rectangular pattern helps in better gripping of the soft tissues.

The command over Austin retractors becomes especially essential when multiple instruments need to be placed inside the oral cavity during the operation.  Austin retractors have been in use for at least half a century. Modifications at its working end have further widened its usage. Thus, these retractors are now a must-have in any oral surgery tray set-up

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