A miniature surgical instrument that is particularly useful for removing ferrous foreign particles from an eye, includes a housing and a wire wound coil positioned within the housing. A magnetizable, axially elongated probe includes a first tip portion that is positioned externally of the housing and a second, body portion that is within the housing and which is surrounded by the coil. A switch is coupled to the coil and is adapted to interconnect the coil to a source of electrical energy so that when the switch means is operated the coil is energized and the probe is magnetized.
