SURGICAL STAPLE REMOVER

A surgical staple remover has two pivotally connected arms, each of which is made up of a proximal handle piece and a distal nose piece. All four pieces are held together by a single pivot pin, and the handle and nose pieces of each arm interfit with one another so that both pieces of each arm pivot as a unit about the pivot pin. The nose piece of a first arm includes two, small, laterally spaced members which can be slipped under the backspan of a surgical staple to be removed. The nose piece of the second arm includes a single member which is initially between and above the two laterally spaced members. When the arms are manually squeezed together, the single member bends the center of the staple backspan down between the laterally spaced members and pivots the legs of the staple out of the tissue.