Surgical loupes?

Hi,

One of the programs very high on my rank list is a program where the residents do not get loupes bought for them...and since I would have to buy them myself, wanted to buy them sooner rather than later. What magnification would you recommend? Also, besides designs for vision, are there any vendors you'd recommend.

Here's another question? Do I need 'em at all? They seem cool and I always wanted a set, but have heard they are not necessary.

Thanks for your advice.

Every program is different when it comes to surgical loupes. I never bought a pair, since I never planned on doing surgeries that required them (spine, delicate hand/nerve), so I didn't want to waste my money on them. However, some programs require that you have a pair. The most common suppliers are Keeler and Designs for Visions. Most of my fellow residents that purchased them, bought Keelers. I would suggest that you wait until you get into your residency before you buy a pair. See what you hand/spine surgeon are using. Get opinions from your upper residents.

Hi there..\
am Egyptian orthopaedic surgeon who is interested in hand surgery i spent alot of time looking for good Loupes and found this one :
Hiene
and my advise to you is not to buy higher than 2.5x magnification power
all the new series of Hiene is perfect regarding the following:
weight: much lighter but not as the custom made ones
the depth of vesion it gave me about 9cm which is so perfect in orthopaedic purpose and plastic surgery
the working distance was 34 cm
simply i loved that one ,
by the way my professor got custom made one and when he saw mine he asked me where i got it from and he decided to have similar one
i felt so proud

Hi there,
Most older surgeons I've talked to avoid the Keeler "clip-on" loupes 2nd to loosening, and usually want the thru the glass types. The main companies that I've seen that have thru the lens optics are Designs for Vision, and Surgical Acuity.
Both allow for 45 day trial use, with full money back refund. I choose Surg. Acuity becuase I thought they gave a much better depth of field, area of vision. DFV argues that it's not a true 2.5 magnification - maybe it's 2.4 but the numbers don't really matter - it's how they felel - work for your eyes. Surg Acuity were about $100 more than the DFV loupes ($1000 SA vs $900 DFV)
Surg Acuity also offers a choice of a higher resolution type of optics - but they're not necessary - the base optics are as good as the DFV which many people have.

So in a nutshell - avoid "clip-on" type loupes, and get either DFV or SA and try them both out and see which ones you like.