A surgical access device (10) including a valve housing (14) and an instrument receiving element (38) mounted in the valve housing having an aperture (39) for flexibly receiving and directing instruments having a wide range of diameters. The instrument receiving element includes a braid or mesh tube generally shaped like an hourglass. The surgical access device may include an access septum seal (36) molded from a gel material. The surgical access device can flexibly engage instruments having diameters ranging from about 3.5 mm to about 12.9 mm.
