Background: Presented is a patient whose history showed that during a hammer- blow on a piece of iron something had flown into his left eye. Clinical investig ation revealed a 9-mm long, horizontal, paracentrally located, penetrating corn eal wound. Temporally in the same region the iris was torn in its entire width. The lens appeared opaque and seemed to be cut in two parts. Radiological investi gation revealed no foreign body. Methods: The operative treatment presented a su rprise: the white piece, which had been considered to be a part of the traumatic cataract, was actually the edge of a large plastic foreign body lying in the vi treous cavity. The exciting and complicated procedure of removing this 12 x9x2mm large foreign body through the corneal wound as well as the reconstruction of t he anterior segment of the eye are demonstrated. Results: Seven months after the injury the corneal wound is very tender, the corneal sutures have not been remo ved, and the retina of the aphakic eye is undamaged. Visual acuity with a contac t lens is 0.6-0.7. Conclusions: Operative treatment of patients with a penetrat ing eye injury is always demanding and difficult and requires a lot of experienc e. Particularly in apparently hopeless cases, an optimum primary care is of grea test importance. Background: Presented is a patient whose history showed that that a hammer- blow on a piece of iron something had flown into his left eye. Clinical Investigtion revealed a 9-mm long, horizontal, paracentrally located, penetrating corn eal wound. Temporally in the same region the iris was torn in its entire width. The lens opaque and seemed to be cut in two parts. Methods: The operative treatment presented a suprise: the white piece, which had been considered to be a part of the traumatic cataract, was actually the edge of a large plastic foreign body lying in the vi treous cavity. The exciting and complicated procedure of removing this 12 x9x2mm large foreign body through the corneal wound as well as the reconstruction of Results: Seven months after the injury the corneal wound is very tender, the corneal sutures have not been remo ved, and the retina of the aphakic e Visual acuity with a contac lens is 0.6-0.7. Conclusions: Operative treatment of patients with a penetrating eye injury is always demanding and difficult and requires a lot of experienc e. Particularly in apparently hopeless cases, an optimum primary care is of grea test importance.