The Light Reflex On The Forceps
Categories:
MECHANICAL PROBLEMS OF BRONCHOSCOPIC FOREIGN BODY EXTRACTION
Sources:
A Manual Of Peroral Endoscopy And Laryngeal Surgery
It is often difficult for the
beginner to judge to what depth an instrument has been inserted
through the tube. On slowly inserting a forceps through the tube, as
the blades come opposite the distal light they will appear brightly
illuminated; or should the blades lie close to the light bulb, a
shadow will be seen in the previously brilliantly lighted opposite
wall. It is then known that the forceps are at the tube mou
h, and the
endoscopist has but to gauge the distance from this to the foreign
body. This assistance in gauging depth is one of the great advances in
foreign body bronchoscopy obtained by the development of distal
illumination.
Hooks are useful in the solution of various mechanical problems, and
may be turned by the operator himself into various shapes by heating
small probe-pointed steel rods in a spirit lamp, the proximal end
being turned over at a right angle for a controlling handle. Hooks
with a greater curve than a right angle are prone to engage in small
orifices from which they are with difficulty removed. A right angle
curve of the distal end is usually sufficient, and a corkscrew spiral
is often advantageous, rendering removal easy by a reversal of the
twisting motion (Bib. 11, p. 311).