Various types of Surgical Operating Microscopes are used for different applications.Most common type of Operating Microscope is used by ENT (ear, nose, and throat) surgeons. Binocular head of the ENT Operating Microscope is 90 degree straight. Also, to get different focal length or working distance, different Objective Lenses are used.

Mainly Objective Lenses of 175mm, 200mm, 250mm, 300mm or 400mm are used in different applications.

The focal length of a Surgical Operating Microscope is changed by simply screwing on a desired Objective Lens at the bottom of the optical head.

Another most common type of operating microscope for surgery applications is used by ophthalmologists / eye surgeons for correcting problems with the human eye.

The binocular head of this microscope is on a 45 degree inclined angle and the Objective Lenses used are 175mm 0r 200mm.

There are also microscopes for general operation such as hand surgery, orthopedic surgery, brain and neuro surgery, dental, and other micro vascular surgical applications relating to human medical needs.

Operating Microscopes are available with manual fine focusing by rotating a knob by hand.

Other microscopes for surgery have motorized foot controls for at least the focusing of the image to free up the surgeon's hands for holding the medical tools.

A common optional accessory on an operating microscope is the inclusion of multiple heads or assistant tube for simultaneous viewing. Medical surgeons often use assistant doctors and nurses during the operation procedure. These assistant heads are also good for medical students for educational purposes. For student use in a medical school, the extra viewing head would be termed a teaching or training head. If used during surgery by a medical professional assisting the lead surgeon, the extra head would be termed an assistant head. These assistant heads (teaching heads) can be monocular with only a single eyepiece, or binocular with two eyepieces. They may see the exact magnification as the lead surgeon's binoculars, or they may have independent magnification controls.

Another optional accessory on a surgical operating microscope is the use of video display. A system can be fitted with a beam splitter and c-mount for connection to a digital ccd camera. This type of microscope camera will output a composite video signal to a cctv video monitor for all medical personnel in the operating room to see.

A significant factor to consider when purchasing a surgical operating microscope is the quality of the equipment and the quality certifications it has.