NBSTSA Surgical Instrumentation & Equipment 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which suture material is absorbable and derived from sheep intestinal submucosa?
- Polyglycolic acid (Dexon)
- Plain catgut (Correct answer)
- Polydioxanone (PDS)
- Polyester (Mersilene)
Correct answer: Plain catgut
Plain catgut is a natural absorbable suture derived from sheep intestinal submucosa; it is absorbed by enzymatic proteolysis in 10–14 days.
Question 2: A needle holder differs from a hemostat primarily because the needle holder has:
- Smoother jaws with no serrations
- Crosshatched or diamond-pattern jaws to grip needles without spinning (Correct answer)
- Curved, atraumatic blades
- Ratcheted locking mechanism only
Correct answer: Crosshatched or diamond-pattern jaws to grip needles without spinning
Needle holders have specially textured (crosshatched or tungsten carbide-inlaid) jaws to securely grip suture needles and prevent rotation during suturing.
Question 3: The Jackson-Pratt (JP) drain operates on which principle?
- Passive gravity drainage
- Negative pressure (closed suction) drainage (Correct answer)
- Positive pressure irrigation and drainage
- Osmotic drainage
Correct answer: Negative pressure (closed suction) drainage
The Jackson-Pratt drain uses a collapsible bulb reservoir that creates gentle negative pressure (closed suction) to continuously drain wound secretions.
Question 4: During laparoscopic surgery, the standard insufflation gas used to create the pneumoperitoneum is:
- Oxygen
- Nitrous oxide
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) (Correct answer)
- Room air
Correct answer: Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Carbon dioxide is used for laparoscopic insufflation because it is non-flammable, rapidly absorbed, and does not support combustion from electrosurgical sparks.
Question 5: Which retractor is most commonly used to retract the liver during upper abdominal procedures such as cholecystectomy?
- Army-Navy retractor
- Deaver retractor (Correct answer)
- Richardson retractor
- Weitlaner retractor
Correct answer: Deaver retractor
The Deaver retractor has a long, curved blade designed to retract deep abdominal organs such as the liver and is commonly used in upper abdominal procedures.
Question 6: What is the purpose of an electrosurgical dispersive electrode (grounding pad) placed on the patient?
- To deliver the cutting or coagulating current to tissue
- To return current safely from the patient back to the ESU generator (Correct answer)
- To monitor the patient's cardiac rhythm during surgery
- To prevent static electricity buildup on the surgical drapes
Correct answer: To return current safely from the patient back to the ESU generator
The dispersive electrode (patient return electrode) collects the current that has passed through the patient's body and safely returns it to the ESU generator, completing the circuit.
NBSTSA Surgical Instrumentation & Equipment 2
Which suture material is absorbable and derived from sheep intestinal submucosa?