SMILE Eye Surgery: How It Works and Benefits

SMILE (small incision lenticule extraction) is a laser eye surgery that has been around for just over a decade, but it has already been performed on over 6 million people worldwide. What makes it so popular? This blog is here to give you an inside look at the principles of SMILE!

How does myopia form?

We can see clearly as light reflected from objects enters our eyes, passes through the cornea and lens, and lastly focuses on the retina. But myopia patients experience changes in their eyeball shape and corneal curvature, making it hard to focus images properly on the retina and leading to blurry vision.

Principle of SMILE

The principle of SMILE is very simple. It uses a femtosecond laser system to cut a refractive lenticule within the cornea and then remove it through a tiny incision of 2-4 mm. This changes the corneal curvature and helps light focus on the cornea properly again, hence achieving a vision correction effect.

When compared to the traditional LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) surgery, SMILE has a simpler procedure as it does not involve cutting a flap in the cornea. This means there’s no need to create a 2 cm incision, which leads to a reduced wound area by a whopping 80%, faster recovery, and a lower chance of bacterial infection and nerve damage.

Many sports lovers favour SMILE as it can correct the corneal curvature without creating a corneal flap. As some of the tissues in the flap will not regenerate, a mistake during the surgery can lead to vision loss and even blindness.

Plus, even when the wound is healed after LASIK, physical impact during contact sports may move the corneal flap. That means no intense sports like basketball, football and boxing, which can be a real bummer for sports enthusiasts. But with SMILE, you need not worry about all of these!

Yet, everyone has different eye conditions and some people may not be good candidates for SMILE. When choosing a vision correction option, make sure to get a professional and thorough eye exam and talk to an eye doctor about the risks of each option before deciding on the best one for you.

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