A grasper for a surgical retractor is provided. The grasper has a grasper body, a push-button activator and a holder to releasably retain a connector head of, for example, a retractor blade. The holder is configured to move from a first position, located at least partially in the opening to provide for selectively retaining the connector head in the opening, to a second position wherein the connector head may be removed. The push-button activator is operably connected to the holder to move the holder from the first position to the second position. In one embodiment the holder is gear driven by the activator.
