A surgical retractor includes a structure including a plurality of legs and a plurality of joints, each leg being connected to at least one second leg at a joint. The structure has a non-expanded state, and an expanded state in which the structure forms a three dimensional structure having an internal volume. The structure has first and second manipulator arms, each of the manipulator arms being connected to at least two joints of the structure. The manipulator arms may be manipulated by a hand of a user. The retractor also includes a connector that holds the first and second manipulator arms in a crossed position. The connector holds the first and second manipulator arms at a point of intersection. The connector allows a user to move the manipulator arms and cause an angle formed by the manipulator arms to change. Movement of the first and second manipulator arms causes the structure to move between the non-expanded state and the expanded state.