SURGICAL BIOPSY INSTRUMENT

摘要

A cervical biopsy instrument (1) comprises a shaft (2) defining a longitudinal axis and having a proximal end and a distal end; an arm (10) extending laterally from the shaft; a cutting portion of cutting wire (16) being supported at an outer end by the arm and being inclined relative to the longitudinal axis; and means for adjusting and setting the inclination and/or length of the cutting portion. This enables a single instrument to deal effectively with differently-sized shaped and positioned cervical lesions, while tailoring the profile of the excision to the lesion concerned. In the embodiments described, two opposed arms (10) support two cutting portions (16), requiring 180 DEG of angular movement during excision as opposed to the 360 DEG movement of the prior art. The arms are mounted on a carriage (7) for longitudinal adjustment, and can be bent individually to vary their length and hence the width of cut, which may be asymmetric. A centring means (20) such as a collar is provided to ensure accurate centring within patulous cervical canals.