Deborah Weigler Bernstein, M.D., R. Ted Compton, MD Gregory Lochen, M.D., F.A.C.S., and Michael Murphy, M.D., F.A.C.S., perform cataract surgery at Medical Eye Associates, S.C. Cataract procedures today can be done in an outpatient setting. MEA physicians frequently utilize Waukesha Health System’s Ambulatory Surgery Center, located on the first floor of the Moreland Medical Center, the site for our Waukesha clinic.

A cataract is a clouding of the eye's natural lens, which lies behind the iris and the pupil. The lens works much like a camera lens, focusing light onto the retina at the back of the eye. The lens also adjusts the eye's focus, letting us see things clearly both up close and far away.

A cataract starts out small, and at first has little effect on your vision. You may notice that your vision is blurred a little, like looking through a cloudy piece of glass. A cataract may make light from the sun or a lamp seem too bright or glaring. Or you may notice when you drive at night that the oncoming headlights cause more glare than before. Colors may not appear as bright as they once did.

When symptoms begin to appear, you may be able to improve your vision for a while using new glasses, strong bifocals, magnification, appropriate lighting or other visual aids.

An intraocular lens (IOL) is implanted
in the eye in place of the patient's
clouded natural lens.

Think about surgery when your cataracts have progressed enough to seriously impair your vision and affect your daily life. Cataract surgery is a simple, relatively painless procedure to regain vision.


Cataract surgery is very successful in restoring vision. In fact, it is the most frequently performed surgery in the United States, with over 1.5 million cataract surgeries done each year. Nine out of 10 people who have cataract surgery regain very good vision, somewhere between 20/20 and 20/40.

During surgery, the surgeon will remove your clouded lens, and in most cases replace it with a clear, plastic intraocular lens (IOL). New IOLs are being developed all the time to make the surgery less complicated for surgeons and the lenses more helpful to patients.