Are vacuum assisted breast core biopsy guns always attached to a machine? the one i had was just a gun, not cord attached. not vacuum assisted then?

Yes: Yes, typically the vacuum assisted biopsy guns are attached to the computer/machine because a program runs it and the vacuum runs through it.Sometimes a handheld stereotactic gun is used instead due to the nature of the lesion being biopsied-much better for dense tissue or firm lesions.The clumsiness of all the tubing with the vacuum ones can be a problem too although better for calcifications.

Not always: The Celero vacuum assisted needle biopsy system is a handheld, self contained unit. There is no cord.