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 Reverse Cutting

 Cutting edge on  Cutting edge on

inside of circle outside of circle
 Skin  Skin
 Traumatic  Less traumatic than
cutting
Blunt vs Lancet
Taper point vs Trocar point
General Guidelines for Selection of
Needle
 References
• Bailey & Love’s Short Practice of Surgery
• http://midlevelu.com/blog/suturing-101-
needles-sizes-and-materials