The Durham retractor holds back the abdominal wall during laparotomy a hollow, concave blade on a teardrop handle that adapts to the tissue beneath rather than pressing flat against it. Peak Surgicals supplies the 215mm pattern in German stainless steel at $27.50, Model PS-P-00018. It is CE marked and built under ISO 13485. See the pattern in the grid below.

What the Durham Pattern Does

The Durham Retractor ($27.50) is a 215mm handheld tissue retractor with a hook-type hollow blade and a fenestrated teardrop handle, used to move and hold back tissue during abdominal, thoracic and orthopaedic procedures including laparotomy. Three features define it, and each solves a specific problem at the incision.

The blade is hollow rather than solid, which enhances the surgeon's view of the field beneath a solid blade of the same size would obstruct exactly what the retraction is meant to expose. Its concave curve is shaped for abdominal work: the curve adapts to the intestines lying under the subcutaneous tissue, so the blade holds the wall open without pressing a flat edge into the bowel. The handle is the third feature — a fenestrated teardrop with outer lateral serrations that give a firm, non-slip grip through a procedure where a wet handle would otherwise turn in the hand. This is a handheld retractor, held by an assistant rather than self-retaining, so grip security is not a minor detail. We supply it at MOQ 1.

Material, Reprocessing and Certification

The retractor is forged from German stainless steel — corrosion-resistant across repeated steam autoclave cycles and holding the blade's concave form under the load of sustained retraction. The fenestrations in the handle are the reprocessing point that benefits from attention: tissue and fluid collect in the openings, so ultrasonic cleaning before autoclaving clears them where hand-brushing may not reach. Inspect the blade edge for burrs, since a retractor drawn against tissue should present a smooth edge rather than a nicked one.

The instrument is Class I, reusable, CE-marked, and built under ISO 13485 the documentation a hospital supply team verifies before qualifying a vendor. Warranty is one year with return-and-replacement, MOQ is 1 piece, orders over $99 ship free in carton box packing, and OEM marking is available for distributors. For self-retaining and rake patterns, see surgical retractors; for deep-cavity work see abdominal retractors. Browse all general surgery instruments. Talk to us about OEM and volume terms.