Gain freedom from glasses and contacts with SMILE

SMILE (SMall Incision Lenticule Extraction) is the most recent and the less invasive laser eye surgery, with the creation of a customized 3D lenticule that is removed through a tiny keyhole incision.

What are the SMILE suitability criteria?

SMILE can correct refractive errors such as myopia (from – 0,25 to – 10 diopters) and astigmatism (from – 0,25 to - 5 diopters). SMILE treatment can correct: • Myopia from -0,25 to -10D • Astigmatism from -0,25 to

How does SMILE work?

SMILE is the latest advancement in laser eye surgery for the treatment of myopia, with or without astigmatism. SMILE works like LASIK laser eye treatment, in that the laser reshapes the cornea in just 25 seconds for each eye. The only key difference with SMILE is that there is no creation of a corneal “flap” by the surgeon, which means the integrity of the cornea is maintained, and the healing process is quicker.

With guidance from advanced 3D placement, the VisuMax laser delivers a series of pulses into the cornea. These pulses form tiny bubbles that outline the tissue that needs to be removed and create a tiny tunnel through which the tissue can be drawn out.

What are the SMILE advantages?

SMILE is one of our specialities. The main advantage of ReLEx SMILE over other laser eye surgery techniques is that it is minimally invasive and does not require the creation of a flap, as is the case with LASIK.

This means there are :

• No flap-related complications
• The corneal remains strong
• No need to avoid rubbing the eye
• Can be used to treat people with dry eyes from long-term contact lens wear
• No dry eye after treatment
• Rapid healing time limiting the risk of infection

What are the SMILE disadvantages?

While SMILE can treat extremely high prescriptions, it can currently only be used to treat patients with short-sightedness or astigmatism… Another disadvantage is its availability. The SMILE treatment is currently only available at a select few clinics in Europe and only a few surgeons master it.

What are the SMILE risks?

Sometimes in about 1% of cases, there is a residual correction (remaining visual error) that requires touching up. We have the experience of these small complementary treatments that we can do without any difficulty. Very rarely, in 1 in 10,000 cases, the patient’s visual acuity may drop to 8/10, and they may need to start wearing glasses again. Our experience and know-how allow us to take care of these cases, even if the patients have been operated on at other visual clinics.

What are the SMILE steps?

Before the procedure

On the day of your treatment, you will spend an hour with us. Upon arrival at the Bellecour Vision Clinic, we will give you a pre-medication to relax you. Once you have put on your sterile robe, you are ready for the operating room.

During your operation

During your operation, you will be lying on an operating chair. After following strict antiseptic regulations, we will give you local anaesthesia in the form of eye drops. The 20-minute procedure consists of two steps:

• The laser sculpts a disc-shaped piece of cornea below the surface of your eye. This is the “lenticule” that gives the surgery its name.
• The laser then makes a small incision in your cornea. This gives your surgeon access to the disc that the laser formed. The entire laser treatment takes about 30 seconds.
• Your surgeon removes the disc-shaped piece of cornea through the incision. This reshapes your cornea and corrects your vision The procedure is not painful and perfectly safe.

After your procedure

You will need to be met at our clinic by an accompanying person who can take you home. We advise you to rest for 3 to 4 hours with closed eyes and should then use anti-inflammatory and antibiotic eye drops.

We will invite you for a post-operative check-up between 1 and 10 days after treatment. It is advisable to avoid situations that could result in you getting dust, dirt or debris in your eye as this could cause an infection.

What are the results of SMILE?

The SMILE treatment ensures optimum results with minimum risk. It’s our priority to obtain good quality vision for you and your eyes. With more than 3000 SMILE treatments performed by Doctor Donate since 2014, our patients usually have a 20/20 visual acuity the day after the surgery.

SMILE surgery offers more precision thanks to its high-performance technology. The results obtained in our ophthalmological center are very satisfactory:

• 99% of patients achieved visual acuity equivalent to 20/20 without glasses as early as the first treatment
• 100% of patients achieve visual acuity equal to 16/20 without glasses from the first treatment If the visual acuity is not considered sufficient, a second treatment is possible to obtain 20/20 without glasses.