An apparatus provides mechanical energy to vibrate a tip. The tip preferably formed of multiple prongs positioned approximately circumferentially (either symmetrically or asymmetrically) around an orifice. The tip is designed to emulsify a cataractous lens and to collect the resulting detritus through an aspiration aperture. An irrigating aperture is provided at a point spaced away from the tip and forms a plume or river of irrigating fluid that less directly confronts lens detritus at the needle tip and therefore collects this detritus in a more efficient and salutary manner as it flows to the aspiration aperture, said plume extend around the prongs. The prongs can be driven at either subsonic frequencies or ultrasonic frequencies.
