Unlike in all other laser eye surgery procedures, the corneal tissue is not ablated using an excimer laser. ReLEx SMILE is totally laser operated procedure that uses proven Femtosecond laser technique and is absolutely flapless and bladeless. Quick procedure and early recovery are among the other key advantages that SMILE has over other conventional refractive procedures.

Yes. SMILE is a permanent treatment. The cornea is reshaped to its ideal shape using femtosecond laser technology, this corrects the vision forever and the patient need not wear any aid for distant vision in future.

SMILE is a smart solution offered at centers of excellence for vision across the globe. To date, more than 380,000 eyes have been successfully treated with SMILE. The technique is based on the proven femtosecond technology that has been in use for several years and is considered to be safe.

SMILE is an exemplary technique for correcting your vision. It is completely effective and safe for people wearing contact lenses. Although your surgeon might ask you to discontinue wearing contact lenses for a couple of days before surgery.

SMILE is minimally invasive and virtually painless method that does not involve use of needles or surgical blades. The entire procedure is laser operated and gets over in few minutes.

There are no cases of hypersensitivity or redness reported with SMILE.

Short duration for surgery and early recovery are amongst the many benefits that come with the advanced procedure called SMILE. The entire procedure gets over in about 12 minutes for both the eyes.

According to studies SMILE is less invasive and preserves most of the nerves while LASIK having a big flap (18mm) makes significance changes to corneal nerve. Hence chances of dry eyes in case of SMILE are lesser than in LASIK.

No. For the first few hours after surgery, your eyes will remain sensitive to light and the vision remains blurred therefore driving is not recommendable so soon. You can start driving within a day although you might be expected to put on UV protected sunglasses for few days while going outdoors.

Unlike LASIK, SMILE is gentler to eyes hence you can start working on computers within a day of surgery. But you may need to go bit easy for initial few days by taking frequent breaks and using the prescribed eye drops regularly.

You can start wearing eye make-up and do beauty parlor treatments after a week’s time (after having checked with your doctor on your post treatment visit). It is advisable to use cosmetic that you used before surgery to ensure that you are not allergic.

No.

All you need to do is inform the cataract doctor who will need to calculate the power of the lens to be implanted accordingly. There is neither any hindrance to surgery nor does it affect the outcome of surgery.

As the person’s age increases, ability of the eye to focus on nearby objects decreases. This being age related process, is irreversible and called Presbyopia. Therefore, some people may need reading glasses after the age of 40 for near vision while their distant vision needs to remain corrected.

Yes.

Eye donation involves transplant of cornea from donor to recipient. Either the entire cornea is replaced (penetrating keratoplasty) or only the damaged portion of cornea is replaced (lamellar keratoplasty). In any case, the major factors considered before transplant are whether it would affect the chances of survival of donated tissue or affect the health of recipient.

SMILE is not a reason for any of the risk factor related to eye donation. Soon after the SMILE procedure, cornea comes back to normal form hence it is ideally fit for transplant.

Indian army/air force accepts refractive surgery but there are certain conditions. The principal criteria are that the individual must be older than 20 years before undergoing surgery, and that it ought to have been done 6 months or 1 year before the medical examination. Individuals with high refractive errors (>6D) prior to LASIK are to be excluded. Candidates must not suffer from colour or night blindness. Candidates who have undergone LASIK/SMILE fulfilling above criteria may be considered for joining defence forces.

(Ref: http://www.careerairforce.nic.in)

You are required to rest on the day of surgery and may need to take rest for a day or two before returning to work.