Nonslip Breast Retractors with Cautery Tip Cleaners

Fig. 1. Epstein breast retractor (ASSI, with permission from Accurate Surgical & Scientific Instruments Co. [1]). Fig. 2. Composition of cautery tip cleaners (Xodus). retraction of slippery muscle tissue by stainless steel retractors can be a hindrance during surgery. To overcome this situation, breast retractors with toothed ends are made and sold (Fig. 1) [1, 2]. However, they are not produced in South Korea so they are not easy to obtain. They are also too expensive. The aim of this study is to introduce nonslip breast retractors constructed from conventional retractors and cautery tip cleaners. Cautery tip cleaners (Xodus, New Kensinton, PA, USA) are composed of five layers (Fig. 2). Beginning with the top layer, the layers are nonslip paper, polyurethane foam, X-ray detectable material, acrylic adhesive tape, and release line. The top layer, nonslip paper, provides an abrasive surface. Using this surface, the cautery tip cleaners are intended to be used to remove and clean the material from the tips of monopolar and bi-polar cautery probes. Sometimes the cautery tip cleaners are used in surgical debridement to make a clean, flat, and even wound bed [3]. The procedure for constructing nonslip breast retractors using cautery tip cleaners is as follows: 1) Prepare normal retractors and cautery tip cleaners. 2) Trim the tip cleaners according to the size of the