Patent ID: 8206358

Claim:
A surgical access apparatus for passing through tissue to an underlying surgical area, which comprises: an access member defining a longitudinal axis and having a longitudinal channel for reception of a surgical object; a seal member mounted to the access member and positioned to intersect the longitudinal channel, the seal member having internal seal surfaces defining a passage and being dimensioned to establish a substantial sealing relation with a surgical object inserted therethrough; and a substantially annular element mounted to the seal member and at least partially circumscribing the passage, the annular member being rigid relative to the seal member and defining an opening to permit passage of the object, the annular element being dimensioned to minimize offset manipulation of the surgical object relative to the longitudinal axis, wherein the seal member defines a proximal seal face, a distal seal face, and an intermediate seal face disposed between the proximal seal face and the distal seal face, wherein the annular element is in contact with the intermediate seal face, and wherein a transverse cross-sectional width of the intermediate seal face is larger than a transverse cross-sectional width of the annular element that is in contact therewith.