An improved handheld instrument assembly for penetrating into a patients spine, the instrument assembly has a needle, an outer sleeve, and a removable handle. The needle has a shaft with a bone penetrating tip at a distal end and an enlarged head rotationally fixed to the needle shaft at a proximal end. The outer sleeve is for receiving the needle. The removable handle is configured to removably attach to and engage the handle attachment from the distal side or the proximal side at the discretion of a surgeon. The removable handle has a “T” shaped body. The removable handle has a slotted opening on a frontal side, the slotted opening being sized to pass over the outer sleeve between the distal end and the handle attachment when the needle is inserted into the patient.
