An apparatus for percutaneously implanting a localization wire within a tissue mass, comprising: a handle with a hollow interior and an end a cannula defining a lumen and having a distal end forming an insertion tip a localization wire located within the lumen and having a distal end near the insertion tip when the cannula is in the insertion position wherein the localization wire comprises at least one anchor adapted to hold the localization wire in the tissue mass and an actuator operable between a charged condition and a discharged condition to retract the cannula to expose the localization wire to the surrounding tissue mass wherein the handle, the cannula, the localization wire, and the actuator form a self-contained implanting apparatus for implanting the localization wire into the tissue mass, whereby the cannula is inserted into the tissue mass and the actuator is placed in the discharged condition to effect movement of the cannula relative to the localization wire and expose the distal end of the localization wire to the tissue mass.
