CASE REPORT A 16-year-old girl was admitted as an emergency on the evening of 5 November I98 1. She had been attending an organized fireworks display and was standing about 15 metres from the area where the fireworks were being set off. A rocket apparently fell over as it was being lit and, travelling horizontally above the ground, struck her above the right knee. On admission, she was not shocked. Examination of the leg revealed the remains of the rocket projecting from a 4 x 6 cm wound above and medial to the knee. There were some superficial burns around this wound and a smaller 1 x 1 cm wound below. There was an effusion in the knee. An X-ray film of the right knee (Fig. 1) showed the rocket embedded in the medial femoral condyle. There was some splintering of the medial femoral cortex. Under general anaesthesia and with a tourniquet, the wound was cleaned and the transected ends of the saphenous vein were ligated. The rocket (Fig. 2) was firmly embedded in the femur to a depth of about 6 cm and was removed with a rim of bone and periosteum, using an osteotome. The knee joint was explored through a medial parapatellar incision and a large haemarthrosis was evacuated. The rocket had not penetrated the joint cavity but there were several crack fractures of the medial margin of the medial femoral condyle. The knee joint was closed but the original wound was left open and dressed. The leg was immobilized in a plaster case and tetanus toxoid, penicillin and cloxacillin were commenced. The wound remained relatively clean in the immediate postoperative period with the use initially of hydrogen peroxide irrigation and subsequent packing with Debrisan. The wound was healed and dry at six weeks, by