Sluder-Ballenger tonsillotome
A guillotine-type instrument for tonsillectomy: a handle with an oval window (fenestra) that captures the tonsil, and a blade that slides and closes across the opening, excising it in a single motion; mechanically similar to the already-catalogued La Force adenotome, but sized and shaped for the palatine tonsil rather than adenoid tissue.
How it is used
Guillotine tonsillectomy: the tonsil is pushed forward onto the mandible's alveolar eminence so it seats in the instrument's fenestra, which is then closed to excise it within seconds; distinct from the wire snare (Eve-type, already catalogued), which is tightened around the dissected lower pole instead.
Clinical tip
A historic technique (Sluder, 1911) that is very fast but offers limited visual control; today it has largely been superseded by cold-dissection or electrosurgical dissection tonsillectomy, though it is still taught and occasionally used in some centers.
Sources
This entry is part of the Instriq catalog, researched and written per specialty from real web research -- never generated or invented without verification -- and reviewed skeptically and independently before publication. How this catalog is written.
Image: Wellcome Collection (Wellcome Library, London). License CC BY 4.0. View original source.
