Orthopedic procedures — fracture fixation, joint surgery, trauma repair, amputation and spinal work — rely on a distinct set of instruments built to cut, lever, curette and shear bone and cast material, rather than the soft-tissue instruments used in general surgery. Surgical-Direct supplies a focused orthopedic range across seven groups: bone levers and taps, chisels and raspatories, bone curettes, rongeurs and bone-cutting forceps, saws and amputation knives, plaster shears and spreaders, and general orthopedic accessories such as mallets, screwdrivers and wire-saw equipment. This guide explains what each group is for, how to choose within it, and how institutional buyers typically assemble a working orthopedic tray.

Bone Levers and Taps: Exposure and Fracture Positioning

A bone lever (elevator) is used to retract soft tissue away from bone and to help reposition or lever a fracture fragment into alignment before fixation. Our range includes the Wagner Bone Lever 24 cm and the Schumacher mod Wagner Bone Lever 345 mm — longer levers give more leverage for deep or heavily muscled sites such as the femur, while a shorter 16 cm Bone Lever suits smaller bones and more superficial exposures.

Surgical Orthopedic T-Handle Taps are supplied in 3.5 mm, 4 mm, 4.5 mm and 6.5 mm sizes and are used to cut a thread into a pre-drilled bone hole before a matching bone screw is inserted. The tap size must match the screw's core diameter, so institutions fitting a range of screw sizes should stock the full tap range rather than a single size.

Chisels, Osteotomes and Raspatories: Cutting and Elevating Bone

Chisels and osteotomes are struck with a mallet to make a controlled cut through bone. An osteotome such as the Lexer Osteotome Angled 275 mm has two bevelled cutting edges for a straight cut, while a chisel such as the Cottle Chisel Osteotome (supplied with depth markings) has a single bevel and is typically used against a flat bone surface.

Raspatories (periosteal elevators) are used to strip periosteum away from the bone surface before cutting. The range spans fine dissectors such as the Mc Donald Dura Dissector and Love Adson Periosteal Elevator through to heavier rib raspatories (Langenbeck, Lambotte) sized for thoracic and rib work. A Bone File Raspatories 20 cm is used afterward to smooth a cut bone edge.

Bone Curettes: Removing Bone and Soft Tissue

A curette has a spoon-shaped cutting edge and is used to scrape out soft or necrotic bone, cartilage, or cystic tissue from a cavity — for example when curetting a bone cyst or preparing a joint surface. Curette head size should be matched to the cavity being treated: our Volkmann Bone Curettes are available in 145 mm and 170 mm lengths and in oval-head 5.2 mm and 8.2 mm sizes, and smaller curettes such as the Jacobson Bone Curette (140 mm) and Martini Bone Curette (140 mm) suit tighter or more delicate cavities.

Institutions building a general orthopedic tray typically stock at least two curette sizes to cover both small and larger cavity work without needing to special-order mid-procedure.

Rongeurs and Bone-Cutting Forceps: Trimming and Resecting Bone

Rongeurs and bone-cutting forceps are the primary tools for removing or trimming solid bone, distinct from a curette's scraping action. A double-action bone cutter such as the Liston Double Action Bone Cutter 28 cm multiplies hand force through a compound-lever jaw for cutting thicker or denser bone, while single-action Liston Bone Cutting Forceps (available in 14 cm, 17 cm and 22 cm) suit lighter, more controlled cuts.

Rongeurs such as the Blumenthal Bone Rongeur and Roettgen Ruskin Bone Rongeur bite away small pieces of bone with a spring-loaded, punch-style jaw and are commonly used in laminectomy and bone-edge trimming; the Oldberg Pituitary Rongeur is a finer variant used for smaller cavity or disc-space work. Choosing between a bone-cutting forceps and a rongeur usually comes down to the access angle a procedure requires, not the hardness of the bone alone.

Saws, Wire Saws and Amputation Knives

For larger bone division and amputation work, the range includes the hand-operated Charriere Bone Saw and the Satterlee Amputation Saw (available in 20 cm and 23 cm blade lengths), plus a Gigli Wire Saw — a flexible twisted-wire saw threaded through or around bone and drawn back and forth using two handles, useful where a rigid saw cannot be positioned. Amputation and dissection knives (Liston Amputation Knife, Virchow Brain Knife) and a Rachiotome Spine Wrench cover the remaining cutting steps in major resection and post-mortem work.

Because this group carries more handling risk than a standard orthopedic tray, institutions should confirm their sterilization and storage protocol explicitly covers wire saws and long-bladed knives, which are easy to overlook in a checklist built around smaller instruments.

Plaster Shears and Spreaders: Cast Removal and Intraoperative Retraction

Plaster shears remove a rigid cast without cutting the patient — a blunt-nosed lower jaw slides beneath the plaster while the upper jaw cuts through it. Our range includes the Stille Plaster Shears (360 mm, for two-hand use) and the Esmarch Plaster Knife for the initial cast-edge opening, plus the Wolff-Boehler Plaster Breaker for spreading a scored cast apart.

This same category also covers surgical spreaders used to hold an incision or space open during a procedure — Inge Lamina Spreaders (with and without teeth, in 6 mm and 12 mm lamina sizes) are used in spinal decompression, and rib shears (Collin, Giertz-Stille) are used in thoracic access rather than orthopedic bone work specifically. Institutions ordering from this group should confirm the intended procedure against the specific instrument rather than relying on the category name alone.

Building a Standard Orthopedic Instrument Tray

A general orthopedic tray typically combines: one or two bone levers of different lengths, a T-handle tap set matched to the screw sizes in use, an osteotome or chisel with mallet, two curette sizes, one bone-cutting forceps and one rongeur, and — where the case list includes casting — a set of plaster shears. Larger trauma or amputation lists add a bone saw or Gigli wire saw.

Because orthopedic instruments are procedure- and site-specific in a way general surgical trays are not, hospitals building a new tray or restocking an existing one are best served by confirming exact sizes against their surgeons' case list before ordering, rather than assuming a single "orthopedic set" covers every procedure.

Institutional Procurement Considerations

Hospitals, universities, clinics and distributors ordering orthopedic instrument sets can request a formal quotation covering exact sizes, quantities and delivery timelines through our Surgical Instrument Sets Procurement Guide or by contacting us directly. Bulk and repeat institutional orders, training-program restocking, and mixed multi-department orders (combining orthopedic instruments with general surgical sets) can all be quoted together on a single RFQ. Where a specific instrument size, brand variant or accessory is not shown on the live category page, our team can confirm current stock and lead time before you commit to an order.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a bone rongeur and a bone curette?
A curette scrapes soft or necrotic material out of a cavity with a spoon-shaped edge; a rongeur bites away small pieces of solid bone with a spring-loaded, punch-style jaw. They are often used together in the same procedure but perform different actions.

What size bone lever should I order?
Longer levers (24 cm and above) suit deep or heavily muscled exposures such as the femur; shorter levers (around 16 cm) suit smaller bones and more superficial access. Institutions covering a range of procedures typically stock both a short and a long lever rather than a single length.

What is a Gigli wire saw used for?
A Gigli wire saw is a flexible twisted-wire saw drawn back and forth by two handles to cut through bone in locations where a rigid saw blade cannot be positioned or angled correctly, such as in confined surgical fields.

What is the difference between a chisel and an osteotome?
Both are struck with a mallet to cut bone. An osteotome is bevelled on both sides of the cutting edge and is used for a straight cut; a chisel is bevelled on one side only and is typically used flat against a bone surface.

Should I order a single-action or double-action bone-cutting forceps?
A double-action forceps uses a compound-lever jaw that multiplies hand force, making it better suited to thicker or denser bone. A single-action forceps gives a lighter, more controlled cut and is generally preferred for smaller or more delicate bone work.

Do you supply orthopedic instruments for institutional and bulk orders?
Yes. Hospitals, universities, clinics and distributors can request a formal quotation covering exact sizes, quantities and delivery timelines by contacting us directly or through our Procurement Guide.

Related Resources

For a broader overview of general surgical instrument categories, see our Surgical Instruments Buying Guide. Browse the full range in our Orthopedics category, or read our Surgical Instrument Sets Procurement Guide for institutional purchasing steps.