The bulldog clamp is a surgical tool used to clamp off or close blood vessels. Made of stainless steel or titanium, the most common bulldog
clamp is a spring-loaded crossover clamp. It has serrated blades that
when pressed together become an effective tool to cut off blood supply.
There are clamps
made for arteries and veins. The structure and function of arteries and
veins are different. The arteries carry blood away from the heart. All
arteries, except for the pulmonary, or the respiratory arteries, and the
umbilical artery, the blood vessel in the abdomen and pelvic area that
extends to the umbilical cord
during pregnancy, carry oxygenated blood. Veins carry blood towards the
heart. Veins carry deoxygenated blood, except for the pulmonary and
umbilical arteries, which carry oxygenated blood.
The main purpose of the bulldog
clamp is to stop the blood flow and prevent excessive bleeding in the
area of the surgical procedure, and to prevent the patient from losing
an unnecessary amount of blood. The most common type of clamp opens when
the handles are squeezed, and conversely, shuts when the pressure is
released from the handles.
Slight variations to these clamps can be found, depending on the location of the surgical procedure and the needs of the surgeon. For example, the glover bulldog
clamp utilizes a tension-adjusted screw to replace the standard
handle-operated opening and shutting of the clamp. This tension-adjusted
screw allows for a controlled amount of pressure to be placed on the
blood vessel.
The bulldog clamp comes in a variety of sizes and shapes. Clamps
typically range from one inch (2.5 cm), commonly used for smaller blood
vessels or areas which require a delicate touch, to two inches (5 cm)
in length. They can be straight or curved. The curvature of the blades
can also range from curved to strongly-curved. This allows the surgeon
to access those blood vessels which are difficult to reach.
The bulldog clamp can also come with
an amplifier. An amplifier resembles an extended handle. This allows the
surgeon to use clamping techniques when distance is an obstacle. An
example of a surgical procedure where an amplifier may be needed to
secure a blood vessel is endoscopic procedures.
An endoscope is an instrument which allows the surgeon to see deep
body structures and organs where there is no direct line of sight.
Examples of surgical procedures that may require an endoscope are inside
the colon or bowel. This is where a bulldog clamp amplifier can effectively utilize the necessary clamping techniques without difficulty.
