Surgical instruments for accessing and stabilizing a localized portion of a beating heart

A method for applying force to a heart, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

• positioning a base member of an instrument mount assembly on a portion of a retractor;
• positioning a medical instrument connected to the base member via a body member of the instrument mount assembly;
• and
• adjusting the medical instrument along three rotational degrees of freedom with respect to the base member via rotation of at least one rotational joint disposed between the base member and the medical instrument so as to orient the medical instrument to achieve contact with the heart, wherein the rotational joint is a ball joint with a base post extending through the ball joint and the body member comprises a socket of the ball joint so that adjustment of the medical instrument along three rotational degrees of freedom with respect to the base member is achieved via rotation along three rotational degrees of freedom of the at least one rotational joint, and the base post is biasable against the base member to lock the ball joint at a position corresponding to the adjusted three rotational degrees of freedom.

A method for applying a force to a heart of a patient, wherein the method comprises:

• positioning an instrument mount assembly on a portion of a retractor;
• positioning a medical instrument coupled by a first rotational joint to a body member of the instrument mount assembly;
• positioning and orienting the medical instrument with respect to the retractor via rotation of a ball joint possessing a total of three rotational degrees of freedom in order to orient the medical instrument to contact the heart;
• activating a single actuator operatively associated with the ball joint to operate the ball joint to rotate with three rotational degrees of freedom;
• and
• locking the ball joint to capture the three rotational degrees of freedom following rotation of the ball joint.