IT WAS in 1938 that Silverman first reported his familiar needle, later modified.1-2 Needle biopsy is so valuable a clinical procedure that untold numbers have been performed. Understandably this has given impetus to further modification and design. Indeed, a multitude of biopsy needles is available commercially. The Franklin modification of the Silverman needle continues to be popular and widely used.
The modification of Franklin uses two coapting silver solder plugs at the blade tips for the purpose of allowing blade spreading as well as tissue entrapment. In the author's experience the Silverman needle frequently failed to retain a specimen within its blades whereas the Franklin modification often did not permit tissue engagement. This seemed especially true with renal biopsy, believed to be due to the consistency of this organ. It appeared that these two needles could effectively be "hybridized" thereby retaining the best features of both. Such a needle