Halsted's principles

Halsted's principles, also known as Tenets of Halsted in the medical community, are the basic principles of surgical technique regarding tissue handling, vascular occlusion, etc. If followed, they improve soft tissue surgical success rate.

These key points were introduced by William Stewart Halsted.

• Gentle handling of tissue.
• Strict aseptic technique during preparation and surgery.
• Sharp anatomic dissection of tissues.
• Careful haemostasis to improve conditions for the procedure and limit infection and deadspace.
• Obliteration of deadspace and adequate removal of material.
• Avoidance of tension

Some scholars also include:

• Importance of rest postoperatively.