Cloudy Vision Months After Cataract Surgery? Understanding PCO and YAG Laser

It’s a worry we hear often: “Doctor, my cataract surgery went beautifully, but months later my vision has gone hazy again. Has the cataract come back?”

The reassuring answer: a cataract cannot come back, because the cloudy lens was removed. What has usually happened is a common, harmless and easily treated condition called PCO.

What is PCO?

During cataract surgery, your new artificial lens (IOL) is placed inside a thin, clear membrane called the capsule. In some people, over months or years, the back of this capsule gradually becomes cloudy — this is posterior capsule opacification, or PCO. Because the haze sits right behind your lens, vision slowly becomes misty, much like the original cataract did.

It’s sometimes nicknamed a “secondary cataract,” but it is not a cataract at all.

The good news: a two-minute laser fixes it

PCO is treated with a quick, painless, in-office procedure called a YAG laser capsulotomy. The laser creates a small clear opening in the cloudy capsule, and vision usually improves almost immediately.

• No cuts, no injections, no stitches.
• It takes only a few minutes.
• You go home the same day and resume normal activity quickly.
• Once done, PCO does not return in that eye.

You can read more about our laser procedures here.

When to get checked

If your once-clear vision after cataract surgery has slowly become hazy, glary or dim, mention it at your next visit — or sooner if it’s bothering you. A simple examination will confirm whether PCO is the cause.

Clouding after cataract surgery sounds alarming, but it’s usually the easiest thing we treat — often in less time than it takes to describe it.

This article is general information, not a substitute for a personal consultation. If you have concerns about your eyes, please get in touch.