Antique Trepanation Scalp Elevator, Double-Ended 19th Century Skull Surgery Instrument

A double-ended scalp elevator from a 19th century trepanning outfit, the checkered working faces giving grip against wet tissue. In trepanation the surgeon turned back the scalp flap and stripped the periosteum clean from the bone with an elevator like this before the toothed trephine crown was set to the skull. Trepanning instruments are among the most sought after of all surgical antiques, and the elevator is the piece most often missing from an incomplete set. Trephines are also available separately in the collection.