Tissue stabilizing device and methods including a self-expandable head-link assembly

A tissue stabilizer comprising:

• (i) an elongated arm terminating at a distal end and including an outer tube and an inner shaft, the inner shaft slidably disposed within the outer tube;
• (ii) a collet disposed at the distal end and releasably connected to the elongated arm, the collet including:
• a head having a cavity defined by a plurality of spaced-apart fingers, and
• a tang releasably engageable with the elongated arm;
• wherein the tissue stabilizer is configured to provide:
• a first condition in which the tang is attached to the inner shaft while the inner shaft is within the outer tube, and
• a second condition in which the tang is detached from the inner shaft and the collet is removable from an entirety of the elongated arm while the inner shaft is within the outer tube;
• and
• (iii) a head-link assembly rotatably coupled to the collet, the head-link assembly including:
• a spherical member retained within the head of the collet, and
• a tube for applying negative pressure to tissue, the tube defining an intermediate section and opposing first and second arms extending from the intermediate section;
• wherein the head-link assembly is transitionable from an unlocked state in which the spherical member is freely rotatable within the head of the collet and a locked state in which the fingers of the collet are deflected radially inward relative to the unlocked state by a compressive force, thereby causing the fingers to rigidly engage the spherical member and hold the head-link assembly in a fixed position.