Lucky the African white-backed vulture is a very lucky vulture indeed.

Blinded by cataracts growing over both eyes, the 11-month-old bird had its sight restored by veterinarians at the University of Pretoria's Onderstepoort campus on Friday.

In a world first for a member of the species Gyps africanus, it underwent a procedure known as phacoemulsification, which uses ultrasound to break cataracts into pieces and suction them away.

The young male vulture was removed earlier this year from a farm in the Free State, where it was being kept in captivity.

"The surgery went well," the specialist who performed the procedure, Dr Izak Venter of the university's Veterinary Academic Hospital, told Sapa.

He said the vulture, dubbed Lucky by staff at the institution, would now spend the next six weeks recovering. Post-operative treatment included antibiotics and eyedrops.

"There are a number of possible [post-operative] complications, but I'm feeling fairly optimistic," Venter said.

The procedure had involved removing the lenses from the bird's eyes, which meant its focusing ability would not be perfect, but it was hoped to release Lucky onto a farm in the Magaliesberg area once he was fully recovered.

In a statement posted on its website earlier on Friday, the University of Pretoria's veterinary science faculty described the operation as a world first.

"[It is] not only... the first of its kind done on any vulture species in Africa, but also the first of its kind on a bird of the Gyps species in the world."

It was not certain if Lucky had been born blind, or if the cataracts were the result of some kind of trauma, it said.

African white-backed vultures are members of the family Accipitridae, which includes eagles, kites and hawks. The bird takes its common name from its whitish back feathers, which contrast strongly with its otherwise darker plumage.

Like most vultures, Gyps africanus is a scavenger, feeding on carcasses. The bird was recently moved from the category "Least Concern" to the category "Near Threatened" on the IUCN Red List, following a sharp decline in numbers across parts of its range.