There are multiple types of staplers used in a medical setting.
There are staplers specifically designed to be used inside the body or for closure of internal wounds, then there are staplers designed to be used outside the body or for closure of external wounds.
The latter is what we are talking about, commonly known as skin staplers, because their common use case is closure of wounds on the skin.
With regards to skin staplers, they come in various sizes and shapes depending on the specific external use case. For example, a stapler intended to staple shut wounds on the face or hands may be much smaller and may deploy much smaller staplers.
Skin staplers come in either re-loadable or disposable, single-use setups. For our purposes we primarily use the disposable, single-use staplers. They are much cheaper, easier to use and more readily available to folks who aren’t medical professionals.
The disposable, single-use staplers will come preloaded with staples in varying quantities, usually in a multiples of 5.
Medical staple widths are typically labeled as Regular, Wide, Large and High
Regular and Wide widths are the most common, Large and High are very rare to find for sale.
For our purposes, my recommendation is to seek the Wide width staples when possible, the width difference between Regular and Wide is not vast but the little extra width can make deployment and specifically removal a bit easier.
This diagram shows the staple in the open position (undeployed) and closed position (deployed).
The measurements included will vary slightly by manufacturer, the diagram is shown here to demonstrate the orientation of the positions and to demonstrate the relative differences between Regular and Wide staples.
Staple removers are separate devices (oftentimes but not always sold with the stapler) used to remove the staple from the skin once it’s been deployed.
In my experience, the “scissor style” removers are more comfortable to use, unless you have meatier fingers.