Presents the design of a cardiac tissue stabilizing device with fixating surgical arm, developed for open-heart cardiac surgery to stabilize anastomosis sites during off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting surgeries. The stabilization device is a "C"-shaped hollow ring that holds the heart using vacuum pressure. The arm is a seven link, 18-DOF, redundant, passive, serial linkage. As it attaches directly to the patient on the chest retractor, the arm has a stable mechanical ground protecting the patient from injury should they move during surgery. Measured forces and torques from two pigs' hearts were scaled to human magnitudes to determine stabilizer lifting and arm braking requirements.