CLEVELAND -- During a routine eye exam, Jim Smith of Sandusky learned what was causing his blurry vision.

"It was a large malignant melanoma and the most likely course of treatment would be to remove the eye," he said.

Smith came to the Cleveland Clinic to see Dr. Arun Singh, who at first agreed with the diagnosis but wanted more tests to be sure. Meanwhile, Smith was preparing for the worst.

"You're kind of coping with the idea of losing a body par and what does monovision mean," he said, "but at the same time, it's cancer.

Singh disagreed with the original diagnosis. A biopsy revealed Smith had a benign tumor called a schwannoma inside his left eye. The tumor wasn't rare, but the location certainly was.

"I've been in this business for many years now, but I've never seen it. I've only read about it," Sign said.

Some times it has been diagnosed after the eye has been removed.

Smith's case would be the first to be different. Singh was able to remove the blueberry sized tumor from inside Smith's eye because it was encapsulated and not attached to anything else. Singh's caution paid off.

Smith kept his eye and now has 20-40 vision.