| 摘要 |
<p>A bioabsorbable marker is placed in soft tissue near a lesion during a biopsy procedure. If tests prove the lesion to be malignant, the marker indicates the location of the lesion and the marker is removed surgically with the lesion. If the lesion is benign, there is no need to remove the marker due to its bioabsorbability. One or more markers (16) may be carried in an elongate, flexible marker carrier (14) that is ensheathed within an elongate, flexible outer sheath (12). The flexible outer sheath is introduced into the proximal end of a biopsy needle (24) until its distal free end protrudes from a port (26) formed in the distal end of the biopsy needle. Retraction of the outer sheath (12) relative to the marker carrier then exposes the marker carrier (14). The markers (16) exit the marker carrier (14) under their own inherent bias or an auxiliary bias is employed to eject them from the marker carrier.</p> |
