Ventricular cuff

A method of coupling a ventricular assist device to a heart, the method comprising:

• holding, by an operator, a ventricular cuff with a surgical tool that is reconfigurable between an unclamped configuration and a clamped configuration, wherein the surgical tool comprises handles and opposing clamp jaws connected to the handles, and wherein the opposing clamp jaws are configured for clamping onto the ventricular cuff via manipulation of the handles by the operator to reconfigure the surgical tool from the unclamped configuration to the clamped configuration;
• attaching a sewing ring of the ventricular cuff to the heart while the ventricular cuff is held by the operator via the surgical tool at a distance so as to allow the operator to maintain visibility of the sewing ring while attaching the sewing ring to the heart, wherein the ventricular cuff comprises an attachment component attached to the sewing ring, and wherein the attachment component comprises an inlet opening configured to accommodate an inlet cannula of the ventricular assist device;
• and
• coupling the ventricular assist device to the heart by inserting the inlet cannula into the inlet opening while the ventricular cuff is held by the surgical tool.