A surgical access assembly (100) for positioning within an opening in a tissue to provide access to a patients body for insertion of surgical instrumentation therethrough. The surgical access assembly (100) includes a body portion (102) defining a longitudinal axis ("Y") and a passageway (112) and having a proximal portion (104) and a distal portion (108). At least a portion of the distal portion (108) is configured to transition from a more flexible, first configuration for passage into a patients body and a more rigid, second configuration to securely maintain the distal portion (108) within the patients body.
