Minimally invasive surgical instrument for delivery of cardiac devices

A surgical instrument for delivering an external basal annuloplasty device to a heart, the surgical instrument comprising:

• a hollow shaft having a proximal portion and a distal portion;
• a center tube telescopically coupled to the hollow shaft and extending from the distal portion of the hollow shaft, the center tube having a heart gripping member at its distal end;
• a plurality of delivery prongs slidably coupled to the hollow shaft, each delivery prong comprising:
• an outwardly biased distal portion;
• an expandable wire member within the outwardly biased distal portion for holding the external basal annuloplasty device;
• a sleeve telescopically coupled to the expandable wire member;
• a wire slide coupled to a proximal portion of the expandable wire member;
• and
• a sleeve slide coupled to a proximal portion of the sleeve;
• wherein the external basal annuloplasty device is mountable on the plurality of delivery prongs by inserting each expandable wire member into a respective pocket on the external basal annuloplasty device.