What is a secondary cataract?
It is clouding of the capsule that holds the implanted lens, months or years after surgery, and it is not the cataract returning: the natural lens was removed. It is common, it is treated with a short laser procedure in the clinic, and it does not usually need surgery again.
- Subject
- Eye conditions
- Topic
- Cataract
- Kind of question
- What is…
- Procedures
- Cataract surgery
- Last reviewed
- 22 September 2026
In more detail
This is worth knowing in advance because the symptom, vision slowly misting over again, is easily mistaken for something more serious. A clinic appointment establishes what it is, and the treatment is quick.
What this answer depends on
- How long ago the lens surgery was
- Whether the misting is gradual or sudden
- Whether vision improves with a change of glasses
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Where this answer sits
It is one of 483 answers in the vision and eye health knowledge base, filed under Eye conditions & diseases in Cataract . The subject page carries the answers either side of it, and the hub is searchable.
Subjects this question touches
The pages that answer the subject behind the question, rather than the question itself.
- Procedure Cataract surgery
- Procedure Refractive lens exchange (RLE)
- Condition Cataract
- Place Cataract surgery in Dubai
This information is for educational purposes and does not replace an examination by a qualified eye-care professional.
General answers cannot tell you what is happening in your own eyes. Only an examination by a qualified ophthalmologist can do that.
Sources & further reading
We prefer primary sources. Where a claim comes from a manufacturer, a single study or a regulator, it is labelled as such below.
- Cataracts in adults: management (NG77)
Clinical guidance on when cataract surgery is indicated, what should be discussed before it, and what follow-up is expected.
Used for When cataract surgery is considered appropriate rather than cosmetic timing; What patients should be told before cataract surgery.
Link checked 23 September 2026