Eighteen cases of macular edema following cataract extraction were screened from a series of 236 operations for an incidence of 7.6%. Visual acuity varied from 20/40 to 20/100 and was worse with pinhole. In 83% of cases, the edema appeared to be cystoid. Seventy six per cent responded to systemic steroids, but, of these, 23% had recurrences of the edema. Even considering recurrences and therapeutic failures, 83% achieved 20/30 vision or better.