Buck Ear Polypus Forceps — American Pattern

Buck Ear Polypus Forceps — American Pattern

Buck’s ear polypus forceps is the American counterpart to the German Hartmann ear-polypus forceps — designed by Albert Henry Buck for the same aural-polyp avulsion procedure but with the finer jaw geometry that Buck preferred for the chronic-suppurative-otitis-media polyp in his Columbia practice. The Buck forceps takes a smaller bite, requires more passes, and produces less crushing of the polyp pedicle than the Hartmann.

The American school difference

The German otology school under Hartmann and Politzer favoured larger working instruments and more decisive single-pass avulsions; the American school under Buck and his Columbia trainees favoured smaller working instruments and incremental tissue-removal techniques. The two philosophies produce similar long-term outcomes; the choice of forceps reflects the operator’s training lineage more than any evidence-based superiority.

Modern use

The Buck remains in tray sets at North American teaching hospitals and is the polypus forceps most graduating American otology residents prefer when given the choice; outside the US the Hartmann tends to dominate.