PADUCAH, Ky. - It's not every day a U.S. Senator picks up a scalpel to perform surgery.

Ophthalmologist, and U.S. Senator from Kentucky, Dr. Rand Paul partnered with Dr. Barbara Bowers through a program called Surgery on Sundays. Doctors, nurses and anesthesiologists volunteer their time to provide medical and surgical care.

Sen. Paul says, “Dr. Bowers was nice enough to donate her time and her facility on a Wednesday. That was also when I could come, so we’ll be doing the surgery today. But it is a statewide program and so some of the patients, I think most of them today are from Paducah areas or Western Kentucky.”

In order to qualify as a patient, you have to be uninsured and meet a certain income criteria.

"There’s a lot of government assistance, there are still some people that fall through the cracks and wait and wait and wait. And, some of them having trouble driving, doing the things they need to do because of their cataracts, so I think there’s still a need for things like this," Paul said. 

Peggy Greggory is one of the patients who received a pro-bono procedures. She says her sight was declining.

I noticed some blurriness going on in my right eye so I made an eye appointment with the local doctor where I live and that’s where I learned I had cataracts," Greggory said. 

Cataract surgery can be expensive, costing out-of-pocket patients thousands of dollars.

The Surgery on Sunday program offers other surgeries. To learn more about the program click here.