Microsurgical clip for brain surgery or the like

Abstract

A microsurgical clip for clamping of small blood vessels formed of a hollow shell of generally rectangular shape having opposed side walls and a front wall, the shell having a duck bill, or jaw, extending forwardly at the lower edge of the front wall. A cooperating insert of zigzag shape nested in the shell includes a top wall, front wall and duck bill, the insert being hinged between the side walls. An expansible spring is seated between the bottom wall of the shell and the top wall of the insert for biasing the duck bills into resilient clamping engagement. The hinge connection includes a hinge pin extending between the side walls at the upper back corners encircled by a tab bent at the end of the top wall of the insert. The side walls are angled downwardly from the hinge pin and the front wall of the shell is foreshortened so that when the duck bills are in clamping engagement the insert projects upwardly beyond the shell. When the projecting insert is pinched downwardly by the finger tip the spring is compressed accompanied by relative spreading of the duck bills for engagement of a blood vessel therebetween. It is one of the features of the construction that the back of the shell is open to provide a spring access opening for insertion of a selected spring to produce a predetermined degree of clamping force.