Biopsy instrument with continuous tissue receiving chamber

Claim 1

A surgical instrument for excising a targeted tissue mass to be biopsied from adjacent bodily tissue of a surgical patient, said instrument comprising: a) an elongated tube having proximal and distal ends, and when said instrument is positioned to excise the targeted tissue mass, the proximal end of said elongated tube is positioned externally of the surgical patient and the distal end of said elongated tube is positioned adjacent the targeted tissue mass; b) a penetrating member affixed to the distal end of said elongated tube, said penetrating member having a penetrating tip at a distal end of said penetrating member to facilitate the insertion of the distal end of said elongated tube adjacent the targeted tissue mass, and a first tissue stop at a proximal end of said penetrating member extending radially outwardly from said elongated tube; c) a second tissue stop extending radially outwardly from said elongated tube, said second tissue stop facing said first tissue stop and disposed proximally of said first tissue stop, said first and second tissue stops defining a tissue receiving chamber therebetween continuously about a 360 degree arc at the distal end of said elongated tube for receiving at least a portion of the targeted tissue mass therein; and d) a tissue cutter mounted concentrically relative to said elongated tube, said cutter having a distal cutting edge surface for cutting tissue, said cutter movable relative to said penetrating member from a first non-cutting position wherein said cutting edge surface is spaced from said first tissue stop to a second tissue-cut position wherein said cutting edge surface is adjacent said first tissue stop; wherein when said penetrating member is positioned adjacent the targeted tissue mass to be excised for biopsy and said cutter is in said first non-cutting position, the targeted tissue mass or at least the portion thereof is received continuously about the distal end of said elongated tube within the tissue receiving chamber, and when said cutter is subsequently moved from said first non-cutting position to said second tissue-cut position, said cutter encloses said tissue receiving chamber and said cutting edge surface of said cutter has excised the tissue received in said tissue receiving chamber from the adjacent bodily tissue.