Surgical access system with navigation element

A surgical access assembly for creating an operative pathway through body tissue, comprising:

• an outer sheath defined by an open distal end and an open proximal end and including a hollow body portion therebetween, wherein the outer sheath further comprises a tapered portion positioned between the body portion and the open distal end;
• an obturator defined by a distal end and a proximal end, wherein the distal end further comprises a tapered distal tip member that terminates in a closed distal tip for atraumatically dilating tissue and the proximal end comprises a grip member and a stop member, wherein the stop member engages the open proximal end of the outer sheath when the obturator is received within the outer sheath when in an introducing configuration;
• and
• a navigational element operatively connected to one of the obturator and outer sheath, wherein the navigational element is configured to indicate the location of at least a portion of the surgical access assembly within a patient during use;
• wherein the tapered distal tip member protrudes from the open distal end of the outer sheath when the obturator and outer sheath are assembled in the introducing configuration while external to the patient, forming an atraumatic assembly distal end and configured to provide visual confirmation of the location of the distal tip member during navigation through the body tissue, with a transition between the tapered portion and the tapered distal tip member cooperating to form an atraumatic assembly distal end,
• wherein the stop member is positioned distally of grip member and is configured to have a width that is greater than a diameter of the hollow body portion and is greater than a diameter of the outer sheath and wherein the grip member is configured with a width that is greater than the width of the stop member, thereby providing a step-like configuration.