For difficult intubation and anesthetic bronchoscopy, intubation fiberscopes are available that are ideally suited to the individual patient. Especially for the complex field of unexpectedly difficult intubation and emergency medicine, the sets and endoscopes developed by KARL STORZ are an invaluable aid.

A significant position in the product range of KARL STORZ is now assumed by fiberoptic video intubation, video bronchoscopy and video laryngoscopy, which now offer countless advantages in anesthesiology and in emergency medicine.

Possible therapies can only be discussed efficiently if findings are objectively documented. The fact that this is now routine is thanks to KARL STORZ. Nowadays scientific progress is inconceivable without a fast and comprehensive flow of information about diagnostic findings. KARL STORZ has developed technologies to make diagnostic results immediately available to everyone involved in the treatment process.

KARL STORZ was an early producer of image-based documentation of medical findings using flash devices for 35 mm cameras and high-performance video systems especially for working in the sterile area, and gathered valuable experience in the process. Digital technology has already supplanted many of the conventional documentation media. With the development of the integrated OR, digital data archiving and global communication from the OR, KARL STORZ is catering today for applications that will be standard tomorrow.

The product range brought to you by KARL STORZ comprises state-of-the-art, fully digital 3-chip cameras as well as mobile all-in-one solutions for the medical practice, and the necessary accessories like monitors, video recorders and printers.

As for the essential aspect of illumination, KARL STORZ offers an unequalled, breadth of choice – ranging from the high-intensity xenon light source to the mobile battery light source – which covers the entire spectrum of conceivable applications.

KARL STORZ offers you a unique range of reusable instruments and devices for all areas of minimally invasive cardiac and vascular surgery.

The product spectrum for cardiac surgery comprises instruments for the endoscopic removal of the great saphenous vein, the thoracoscopic resection of the internal thoracic artery as well as a universal, modular retractor system for all conventional open heart interventions. For cardioscopy, at KARL STORZ you will find excellent endoscopes using HOPKINS rod lens technology, such as those for the visual control of a valve reconstruction.

For vascular surgery we can offer you an extensive selection of special instruments for laparoscopic, laparoscopy-assisted and hand-assisted abdominal aorta surgery.

In addition, we offer you various instrument sets for the endoscopic treatment of perforating veins.

This specialized but comprehensive product range is rounded off by devices for the digital recording and storage of image and video files.

At KARL STORZ the otorhinolaryngology branch of medicine, a broad field rich in tradition, comprises rigid endoscopes spanning the entire spectrum of lengths, diameters and directions of view, flexible fiberscopes and close on 6,000 different instruments. We also offer, among other things, an extensive product range for skull base surgery, pituitary gland surgery and otoneurosurgery, which likewise includes a large number of flexible and rigid endoscopes as well as instruments for advanced operating techniques in this field.

From basic equipment for the ENT practice through complete sets of endoscopic and surgical instruments up to the high-technology system for video-assisted endoscopy and autofluorescence, the medical practitioner is now provided with an entire range of endoscopes and instruments from one manufacturer. These perfectly matched endoscopes, instruments and appliances are of unsurpassed quality.

The range of products available for gastroenterology includes videoscopes, processors and light sources for the entire field, including accessories for flexible endoscopes.

From basic equipment for the gastroenterology practice through special videoscopes for the clinic and on to the high-tech system for image documentation with link-up to a Hospital Information System (HIS), the physician can obtain everything from a single source: endoscopes, accessories and devices of outstanding quality, all perfectly coordinated with one another.

Hysteroscopy in the diagnosis and therapy of intrauterine disorders is now standard procedure in clinics and, to an increasing extent, in private practices. Thanks to the miniaturization of the operating instruments, conventional invasive surgery can be performed more efficiently and with a minimum of trauma. KARL STORZ has played a major role in this development and offers hysteroscopes, amnioscopes and fetoscopes of various diameters for diagnosis and surgery.

Along with "classic" gynecological endoscopes, the product range of KARL STORZ also includes endoscopes and other instruments for new methods such as transvaginal endoscopy (TVE) and falloposcopy. Increasing significance is also being attached to the field of pelvic surgery. The laparoscopic enucleation of myomas and supracervical hysterectomy using the Morcellator are now as firmly established as are standard laparoscopic applications.

Laparoscopy, the inspection of the abdominal cavity with a rigid endoscope, has long been used in medicine to view abdominal and pelvic organs.

KARL STORZ was quick to realize the significance of laparoscopy. Over a period of decades the company developed a comprehensive and extremely sophisticated range of endoscopes and instruments in the fields of internal medicine, general surgery, urology, gynecology and pediatric surgery.
A large number of laparoscopic surgical procedures are now a matter of routine.

This range today comprises in excess of 5,500 products designed for specific applications and covers the entire field of laparoscopic diagnostics and surgery.

KARL STORZ was pioneering the development of OR integration in the 1990s when minimally invasive surgery triumphantly proceeded to the modern surgery today. With the enhancement of OR techniques the requirements within the OR surrounding increased. More and more devices, new and complex technologies entered the OR. The device control was driven locally and ineffective. Visualization and access to important data could only be managed in a limited way. The workplace and surrounding areas were inherently inefficient and ergonomically challenging.

In addition to using the KARL STORZ camera systems with endoscopes, it is possible to connect all KARL STORZ cameras to surgical microscopes and colposcopes. The adaptation requires a standardized C-MOUNT connection on the specific optical system.

This connection can be made either directly via the standardized C-MOUNT connection or indirectly via quick-adaptors.

Direct Adaptation: A direct connection between the camera and the microscope has the advantage that special adaptor systems are no longer necessary. The direct C-MOUNT connection is safe, stable, and does not reduce quality. Such a connection can be made, for example, with 

• the IMAGE 1™ H3-M HD Microscope Camera Head
• the  TELECAM C-MOUNT Camera Head  or the
• TRICAM® C-MOUNT Camera Head in conjunction with an adaptor.

Indirect Adaptation: An indirect adaptation between the KARL STORZ camera systems and an operating microscope or colposcope with C-MOUNT connection, may be accomplished with special quick-adaptors. These quick-adaptors ensure the connection between the standardized endoscope coupling and the C-MOUNT of the optical system. The advantage of this solution is that the camera can be plugged directly into the optical system with the endoscope coupling, without time-consuming threading action. Such a quick adaptation is possible with all KARL STORZ cameras with endoscope coupling.

Minimally invasive technologies are opening up new opportunities in neurosurgery, especially in the diagnosis and therapy of intracranial defects.

Depending on the requirements of the operation, either rigid or flexible endoscopes are used in intracranial surgery. With endoscopes of differing viewing angles of 0°, 30°, 70° an 120°, the neurosurgeon can see into the brain to an extent that was not previously possible with a microscope and can carry out more extensive surgery.

Indications for the use of the neuroendoscope in neurosurgery are as follows:

• Occlusive hydrocephalus (ventriculostomy)
• Intraventricular processes (e.g. tumors and cysts)
• Arachnoidal cysts and cystic cerebral tumors
• Intraventricular hemorrhages and other intraventricular interventions
• Endoscopically assisted neurosurgery (base of the skull)
• Transnasal transsphenoidal pituitary gland surgery

NOTES. In the synergistic fields of surgery and gastroenterology, research is constantly striving to create better therapy options, so that patients can be treated even more gently and effectively. Through close cooperation with initiatives all over the world, KARL STORZ supports the scientific research of these improvement potentials and ensures the implementation of innovative technical solutions.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery is a new field in which endoscopy has become established and is rapidly growing in importance. The instruments developed by KARL STORZ already permit a whole range of endoscopic, minimally invasive operations, such as:

• Support immersion endoscopy (SIE)
• Cavity endoscopy
• Endoscopic treatment of disorders of the salivary duct
• Arthroscopy of the temperomandibular joint
• Endoscopically assisted procedures for treating comminuted fractures of the zygomatic arch, the zygomatic process and the condylar process

The special anatomical and pathological conditions in children require specific, sophisticated instruments – children are not just small adults. The product range specially developed by KARL STORZ for this patient group comprises the fields of neuroendoscopy, ear, nose, throat, anesthesia and emergency medical care, thoracic surgery, gastroenterology, laparoscopy in surgery, gynecology and urology, urology and proctology.

Endoscopic operative techniques are an integral part of plastic and reconstructive surgery today. Minimally invasive techniques are now used in practically all fields of plastic surgery.

• Face-lifting
• Blepharoplasty
• Rhinoplasty
• Otoplasty
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Mammaplasty
• Capsulotomy
• Abdominoplasty
• Compression syndrome
• Harvesting of the fascia lata
• Harvesting of donor muscles
• Harvesting of donor nerves

Rectoscopy and proctoscopy are well-established methods in the diagnosis and therapy of rectal disorders. Combination with video endoscopy provides clear diagnostic documentation and allows even complex minimally invasive techniques such as transanal rectal surgery.

For these indications, KARL STORZ offers a wide assortment of instruments for the hospital and office, ranging from rectal instruments for performing biopsies and removing polyps to optical forceps and instruments for treating hemorrhoids, and videoscopic instruments for transanal surgery.

KARL STORZ, one of the world's leading companies in the field of development and manufacture of surgical and medical instruments and devices, has been a hotbed for a multitude of innovative ideas in the equipment sector over the past 60 years.

What makes KARL STORZ devices stand out in particular is, besides the standardized and modular design, their precision and long-life mechanics, state-of-the-art microelectronic program-controlled control engineering, and production processes that are certified and devised according to the stringent requirements of the quality assurance standards ISO 9001/EN46001.

The KARL STORZ portfolio of devices comprises:

• Insufflators
• Suction and irrigation systems
• Units for high-frequency surgery
• Motor systems
• Lithotripsy systems
• Illumination systems and imaging modalities as well as photo video systems and accessories (see section on Documentation/Illumination/Cameras)

Urology today would be unthinkable without the diagnostic and therapeutic methods of modern endoscopy. Cystoscopy, transurethral prostate resection (TURP) and urethrotomy are now a matter of routine and are undergoing continual improvement made possible by new technologies.

Working elements for the operation of laser probes, rigid and flexible instruments for interventions in the ureter or for conservative nephrolithotomy, as well as instrument sets for laparoscopy and pediatric urology complete the range of essential endourological products.

KARL STORZ can also supply you with high-frequency surgical units and devices for lithotripsy in the bladder, ureter and kidney.