A new option to Buxton's Mini Open retractor must be viewed as yet another affirmation of the American belief that more is better. Realizing that not every surgeon enjoys a bevy of infinitely attentive assistants gives us cause to pause and ponder a way to make the Mini-Open retractor do more and do it better. With an incredible perception of the obvious, we added a third arm to the Mini-Open retractor frame.

The new Modified Mini-Open frame sports a wing-nut assembly fitted to its center pivot screw. The nut becomes the anchoring mechanism for a choice of three 20 mm-wide center blades to match our swivel arm blade depths of 36 mm, 53 mm, and 68 mm. Slide the blade to attain the desired exposure and tighten the wing nut for three-point retraction. When the third arm is not needed, the blade easily detaches, so the surgeon can take full advantage of the Mini-Open retractor's articulating arms and short, lightweight frame.

First-time buyers can choose from an array of sets complete with narrow blades. Current owners of the original Mini-Open can up-grade to the newest model for a modest fee.

Humerus Areas, Vol. 2, No. 3