Metal retractor with set screw 8" (20cm)"STAINLESS STEEL" "RAMSAY" ""MEDICON / GERMANY" "12"gag, mouth gag, surgical instrument, oral and tonsil instrument

1 pair stainless steel forceps with round serrated jaws, screw joint 6¼" (16cm) "Jetter & Scheerer Germany"oral & tonsil instrument, dental sugical instrument

1 pair stainless steel forceps with triangle serrated jaws, screw joint 18cm. "MADE IN ENG" "STAINLESS STEEL"oral & tonsil instrument, dental surgical instrument

1 pair stainless steel forceps with triangle serrated jaws,screw joint 7½" (19cm) "V.H.A GERMANY" "29" "STAINLESS"oral & tonsil instrument, dental sugical instrument

Used for surgery in a mental health hospital in Victoria circa 1920. Positions the tongue of an unconscious patient forward; possibly used during tonsillectomies. May also have been used for patients with epilepsy. http://museumvictoria.com.au/collections/items/259059/carmalt-s-tongue-holding-forceps-medicon-metal-circa-1920Stainless steel forcep with punch arm and base with matching hole"STAINLESS STEEL", "F.G & D" "C.TURTIN & SONS. SHEFIELD"oral & tonsil instrument, mental health, epilepsy

The advent of anaesthesia posed immediate problems for the oral surgeons and dentists who were used to operating on awake patients with intact airway reflexes. Early anaesthetics were very light and often created an uncooperative patient. Dentists were quick to complain they had trouble opening the mouth quickly enough and dental props soon made an appearance. Gags and tongue depressors proliferated, all initially devised to improve surgical and anaesthetic access, not to protect the airway. Other instruments for opening the jaws included the somewhat fearsome devices known as mouth openers. Heister's mouth opener was incorporated in anaesthetic practice but was not designed for this purpose. Lorenz Heister (1983 - 1758) used his device for mouth inspection and for operations on the palate, tonsils and teeth in the pre-anaesthesia era. He was not impressed with the way it was used by others in his life time and believed that it overstretched the jaw when used inappropriately. Despite its apparent brutality, the Heister mouth gag was still advertised for sale in 1983 and its useful mechanism has been incorporated into modern surgical retractors. This Heister heavy patterned mouth opener was acquired from an Italian Army medical unit at Tobruk in 1941 and donated to the museum in 1946.Scissor-like metal device with a screw mechanism at the top which allows for the open or closed position to be locked.heister, lorenz, mouth opener, gag, heavy patterned

The advent of anaesthesia posed immediate problems for the oral surgeons and dentists who were used to operating on awake patients with intact airway reflexes. Early anaesthetics were very light and often created an uncooperative patient. Dentists were quick to complain they had trouble opening the mouth quickly enough and dental props soon made an appearance. Gags and tongue depressors proliferated, all initially devised to improve surgical and anaesthetic access, not to protect the airway. Other instruments for opening the jaws included the somewhat fearsome devices known as mouth openers. Heister's mouth opener was incorporated in anaesthetic practice but was not designed for this purpose. Lorenz Heister (1983 - 1758) used his device for mouth inspection and for operations on the palate, tonsils and teeth in the pre-anaesthesia era. He was not impressed with the way it was used by others in his life time and believed that it overstretched the jaw when used inappropriately. Despite its apparent brutality, the Heister mouth gag was still advertised for sale in 1983 and its useful mechanism has been incorporated into modern surgical retractors.Steel cork-screw shaped object with a twist top handle which will force the two arms apart. Each arm has ribbing toward the end to create friction when inserted in the mouth.Stamped into the twist top handle: MAYER & MELTZERheister, mouth gag, mouth opener