Attaching an elliptical excisional skin biopsy punch to an appropriately designed hand held electrically powered handle can quickly produce a sharply demarcated wound that is the same shape and size as the elliptical punch that was used. The biopsy specimen obtained in this manner can be obtained within 1-2 seconds and thus is a much faster method than the more laborious method of rocking the elliptical punch back and forth by hand. In addition, only slight pressure is required to complete the biopsy thus minimizing the crush effect on the biopsy specimen.