The surgical grasping instrument having U-shaped jaws has a pair of handles connected to a pair of U-shaped jaws by a pair of elongated arms. The lower jaw is rigidly connected to the anterior end of the lower elongated arm. The upper jaw is pivotally connected to the anterior ends of the upper and lower elongated arms. The upper and lower arms are held together in sliding contact so that sliding the upper arm pivots the upper jaw. Both handles have finger loops. The rearward handle is rigidly attached to the lower arm, and is pivotally attached to the forward handle. The forward handle is attached to the upper arm by a ball and socket joint so that pivoting the handles pivots the upper jaw. The U-shaped jaws are designed to grasp round or semi round objects, such as a tympanostomy tube.
