The long, slender arms tapering down to thin, curved jaws with shallow, 2 mm wide cups provide the surgeon with surprisingly good, comfortable extension into very tight places. These specially designed rongeurs are being used as a follow-up to the air drill when removing the final bone mantel to expose skull base tumors. Those surgeons who choose not to rely on power equipment to carefully glean the area and possibly risk complications can appreciate the tactile assurance that the rongeur provides.

The skull base rongeurs are 150 mm long with 70 mm of extension from first proximal joint to distal tips. The jaw thickness at the cups is 2 mm, just strong enough and narrow enough to carry out the difficult task at hand. Of course, jaws this thin are vulnerable, and require a level of due diligence in their use and care approaching that of microsurgery instruments.

Talking Back, Vol. 2, No. 4