Abstract: A surgical sleeve which includes a series of spaced apart rings on an interior wall surface encircling a slender cutting tip. The sleeve completely enshrouds the tip in an unstressed condition in order to avoid inadvertent injury to the interior portions of the eye. The sleeve, however, automatically retracts during use to expose the free end of the tip to effect emulsification of the natural lens. The spaced rings further reduce the surface contact between the sleeve and the tip and define a transverse channel through which fluid may flow when lateral pressure is applied to the sleeve. As a result, the sleeve is able to effectively remove heat from the tip even under adverse conditions and alleviate the risk of burning the corneal tissue.