Surgical instruments providing access to delicate tissue, such as brain tissue or breast tissue, through a transcutaneous incision. A surgical apparatus may have a hollow sleeve retractor extending along a longitudinal axis from a proximal retractor end to a distal retractor end and an introducer having a proximal introducer end and a distal introducer end. The proximal introducer end is configured to install within the hollow sleeve with its distal end extending beyond the distal retractor end. The distal introducer end is tapered and may have a rounded profile in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis to displace delicate brain tissue transversely to the longitudinal axis without damage to the tissue. The distal retractor end may be blunt and adapted to support adjacent brain tissue while minimizing disruption to the tissue after the retractor is positioned at a surgery site and the introducer is removed from the retractor.
