A microsurgical instrument has a pair of operative surgical surfaces that are moved relative to each other in shearing or grasping procedures performed by the instrument. The instrument has a handle containing an elongate center rod with a ring mounted for reciprocating movement on the rod. A tube is secured to the ring and a shaft extends through the tube and is secured to the rod. The handle also includes a plurality of resilient arms that extend along the length of the rod and engage against a sliding surface of the ring on the rod. The plurality of actuator arms are alternatively manually compressed radially inwardly by the surgeons hand and released by the surgeons hand to allow the arms to flex radially inwardly and outwardly. The inward and outward movement of the plurality of arms reciprocates the ring on the handle rod and causes the tube and shaft to move axially relative to each other.
