For the past five years, we have been offering our patients the newest form of Lasik, which is known as SMILE (also, but less commonly, as ReLex). SMILE stands for Small Incision Lens Extraction. As the name implies, SMILE corrects nearsightedness and astigmatism through a tiny, four millimeter opening. With this minimally-invasive treatment, there is the very rapid vision recovery of Lasik but less of the immediate dryness and less need for touch-ups than standard all-laser Lasik. There is no concern about rubbing the eye after the treatment, so there is no need to wear goggles in the recovery period. Since the flap is the part of Lasik that seems to concern our patients the most, there is no need to worry about this because there is no flap.
There is no pain, and the SMILE treatment takes less than five minutes.
SMILE requires a very specific Lasik laser, which has not been acquired by most Lasik surgeons. Hence, there are only about 20 doctors in the Los Angeles area that offer this small-incision option.
Around the world, over 5 million SMILE procedures have been performed, and SMILE has become the preferred laser vision correction option in many countries, particularly in Asia.
As specialists in laser vision correction, we provide the newest and best treatments for our patients. Please call us to schedule your free consultation to see if SMILE laser vision treatment is right for you.