A hemostat (also called a hemostatic clamp; arterial forceps; and pean, after Jules-Émile Péan) is a tool used to control bleeding during surgery.[1] Similar in design to both pliers and scissors, it is used to clamp exposed blood vessels shut.
Hemostats belong to a group of instruments that pivot (similar to scissors, and including needle holders, tissue holders, and some other clamps) where the structure of the tip determines the tool's function.
A hemostat has handles that can be held in place by their locking mechanism, which usually is a series of interlocking teeth, a few on each handle, that allow the user to adjust the clamping force of the pliers. When the tips are locked together, the force between them is about 40 N (9 lbf).
Often in the first phases of surgery, the incision is lined with hemostats on blood vessels that are awaiting ligation.
- ^ N Phillips; P Sedlak (2010). Surgical Instrumentation. Clifton Park, New York: Cengage.