We describe a case in which the patient had routine, uneventful cataract surgery and developed snuff syndrome on day 1 postoperatively. The patient had pseudoexfoliation syndrome and normal intraocular pressure that was well controlled by timolol and previous laser trabeculoplasty. Although the visual result had been good after surgery in the first (right) eye with a best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 6/5, this adverse event, which decreased the BCVA in the left eye from 6/24 preoperatively to hand movements postoperatively, was unexpected. Systemic evaluation failed to identify a specific cause. Data were collected prospectively on 1000 subsequent, consecutive cases of cataract surgery, but we were unable to find pathogenetic data on this occurrence.