ReLEx SMILE – A Less Invasive Way to Treat Your Refractive Error

London Vision Clinic was the first Laser Eye Surgery clinic in the UK to offer ReLEx SMILE – a new generation of “flap-less” procedure.

What is ReLEx SMILE?

Often known simply as SMILE, ReLEx (Refractive Lenticule Extraction) SMILE (Small Incision Lenticule Extraction) represents a revolutionary advancement in Laser Eye Surgery. The keyhole procedure is less invasive than other Laser Eye Surgery treatments, which means improved safety and comfort, and faster recovery times.

Learn more about SMILE and how it works in the video below.

How is SMILE Different to LASIK?

Since its introduction in the 1990s, LASIK has remained the most popular Laser Eye Surgery procedure. By creating a flap, LASIK eliminated the need to remove a whole portion of corneal epithelium, as is the case in surface ablation procedures such as PRK and LASEK. ReLEx SMILE took this development to the next step.

Instead of creating a flap in the cornea, SMILE involves making a small “keyhole” incision. This makes for a less invasive procedure, increasing patient comfort and reducing the required treatment time. Moreover, as there is no need to switch from one instrument to another (as is the case in LASIK procedures), there is no need for the patient to change position.

This is why the ReLEx SMILE procedure only takes a few minutes.

“Not only is the patient experience greatly enhanced, as there is less surgical manipulation of the eye, making it less invasive than traditional Laser Eye Surgery, but it also makes vision correction available to people who would have previously been told they were unsuitable candidates. It’s a major development.” —Professor Dan Reinstein

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The ReLEx Procedure: How it works

Following the application of anaesthetic eye drops, the state-of-the-art Carl Zeiss VisuMax laser is used to deliver a series of pulses into the centre of the cornea. This creates a tiny incision on the surface of the cornea. Next, the laser creates a lenticule (a small, lens-shaped piece of tissue), outlining the tissue that needs to be removed.

A small tunnel is created between the surface incision and the corneal bed, through which the tissue can be drawn out. This effectively changes the shape of the cornea, adjusting the way light is refracted into the eye and correcting the existing refractive error.

By removing the need for a corneal flap, SMILE improves healing times compared with LASIK and surface ablation procedures. Not only does the procedure take only a matter of minutes, but patients notice an immediate improvement in their vision: Vision is 80% better immediately after treatment and up to 100% within a few days, according to trials conducted on over 1,000 patients across the UK, Germany, France, and Denmark.

As the eye doesn’t have to accommodate a corneal flap, it is possible to remove more tissue from the cornea. This means that surgeons can correct higher prescriptions than previously considered treatable. No other technology has been able to match the accuracy of the Carl Zeiss VisuMax system in performing this type of keyhole Laser Eye Surgery.

Key advantages of ReLEx SMILE over traditional LASIK

“ReLEx represents the next generation in corrective vision treatments.” —Professor Dan Reinstein

LASIK treatments have been successful in treating tens of millions of patients globally over the decades. While this procedure is considered extremely safe and effective, and remains the most popular elective procedure in the world, ReLEx SMILE offers several advantages:

• It can be performed in considerably less time than traditional LASIK.
• It is capable of treating even higher prescriptions than previously thought possible.
• The risk of post-operative side effects (such as dry eyes and discomfort) is significantly reduced and possibly even eliminated.
• The lack of a corneal flap means that the mechanical strength of the cornea is maintained throughout the procedure.

Although Laser Eye Surgery is already extremely safe and very effective—and is and the most popular elective procedure in the world with over 20 million treatments carried out to date—for patients who are suitable, ReLEx offers several advantages over the widely used LASIK:

• ReLEx can be performed in considerably less time than traditional LASIK, as it uses only one laser instead of two.

• ReLEx is capable of treating even higher prescriptions than previously deemed possible.

• After-effects of Laser Eye Surgery (such as post-operative discomfort and dry eye) are significantly reduced, and in some cases eliminated.

• Importantly, the mechanical strength of the cornea is kept intact throughout the procedure, as no flap is created.