Jennifer Matthews: For 15 years, Jean Brekke was on the road to vision loss when cataract finally clouded her eyesight, she looked into surgery.

Jean Brekke: It just was getting more difficult all the time to see well.

Jennifer Matthews: Like many cataract patients Jean knew she'd still need glasses for reading even if she did have surgery. But her ophthalmologist gave Jean another option, a new implant called the Crystal lens, which is so similar to a natural lens that the eye can still focus at most distances without glasses. Doctors simply take out the eye's natural cloudy lens but leave its outer pouch intact and attach to the eye's focusing muscles. Then they replace it with the crystal lens, much like putting a new letter in an old envelope.

Dr. Mark Sczepanski: They can have their natural lens removed to have the crystal lens put in and regain their distance vision and as well as their reading vision, and that's probably part of the most exciting reason-the biggest reason why this lens is so exciting at this point.

Jennifer Matthews: That could also make the crystal lens a permanent fix for near or far-sighted patients who are not candidates for the ever popular LASIK surgery

Dr. Mark Sczepanski: You feel like you are giving them some years back. After 45 are not supposed to be able to see up-close anymore and we are sort of cheating nature, and it's really exciting to see that.

Jennifer Matthews: It worked for Jean. She now has 20/20 vision.

Jean Brekke: I can read pretty much all of the small print. It's getting much, much better everyday.

Jennifer Matthews: A turnaround that has put her back in the driver seat. This is Jennifer Matthews reporting.