Posted by: Manhattan LASIK Center

Have you ever considered a vision correction procedure? When most people think of these procedures, LASIK is often the first to come to mind.

But LASIK isn’t the only vision correction procedure you can undergo. Don’t forget about revolutionary, minimally invasive procedures like SMILE, too!

SMILE provides patients with 20/20 vision or better and total freedom from glasses and contact lenses! It’s a simple vision correction procedure that only takes three steps. Keep reading to learn more about SMILE and why it takes 3 simple steps to correct your vision with it!

What is SMILE?


SMILE stands for Small Incision Lenticule Extraction. SMILE is a refractive laser eye procedure, meaning it uses a laser to change the shape of your cornea to correct a refractive error. SMILE can correct nearsightedness and some degree of astigmatism by removing a small amount of corneal tissue to correct the cornea’s overall shape.

The cornea, the clear front part of the eye, bends or refracts light as it passes through your eye. When you have a refractive error, it’s due to an irregularity in the shape of your cornea. There are other kinds of refractive laser eye procedures. These include LASIK and PRK.

However, SMILE is distinct because it removes corneal tissue differently. When compared to LASIK and PRK, SMILE is minimally invasive.

Because of this, the vision correction procedure is faster and easier to recover from for patients. Patients can return to the things they love in less time while enjoying incredibly crisp and clear vision!

What’s not to love about seeing the world around you with a level of clarity you’ve only dreamed of being possible?

The Three Steps of SMILE Surgery

So, how does SMILE work? There are three main steps.

Before the vision correction procedure can begin, you’ll receive numbing eye drops, so you don’t have to worry about feeling any pain during SMILE. Although you’re awake, you will be comfortable and ready to experience better vision.

After your eyes are numb, the SMILE procedure at Manhattan LASIK Center can begin.

Here are the 3 simple steps of SMILE surgery:

1.    Lenticule Creation

A lenticule is a disc-like shape. Your SMILE surgeon will use a femtosecond laser to create a lenticule from the tissue in the cornea.

The size of the lenticule is about the size of a contact lens, although your refractive error determines its precise dimensions. After this is decided, your prescription is pre-programmed into the laser.

The femtosecond laser can create the lenticule under the surface of your cornea without penetrating the cornea. Doing this makes SMILE minimally invasive.

Only a minimal amount of tissue is disturbed in the cornea when the lenticule is created to correct and improve your vision during SMILE.

2.    Lenticule Removal

After creating the lenticule, your surgeon will make a small incision in the eye. Making this incision helps provide access to the lenticule.

Once your surgeon can access the lenticule, they will pull it out of the eye through the incision using a tiny surgical instrument.

3.    Vision Correction

Once the lenticule is removed, your vision will start improving. It will continue improving as your eyes heal.

Removing the lenticule reshapes the cornea and begins improving your vision. After this point, the SMILE procedure is complete. No sutures or stitches are necessary, and the incision will heal on its own after a few days!

With that, SMILE is done! With these three simple steps, you can experience permanent visual correction while achieving much-desired visual freedom from glasses and contact lenses. But SMILE has more benefits than other vision correction procedures you may be unaware of.

The Benefits of Having SMILE

SMILE is one of the most minimally invasive procedures you can undergo when compared to LASIK. Unlike LASIK, SMIKE doesn’t require creating a flap in the cornea.

If your corneas are too thin, you can’t have LASIK. Having LASIK if your corneas are too thin could result in severe complications to your vision. It also means there’s some risk of flap displacement as your eyes heal.

LASIK is often discouraged for patients that take part in contact sports, as the flap may become dislodged during the healing process in these patients. Because SMILE doesn’t involve creating a flap, there are fewer risks with SMILE than LASIK.

The vision correction procedure disturbs less corneal tissue, making it faster and easier to recover after having it. SMILE surgery also causes less post-surgical dry eye since it causes less damage to the cornea.

Patients recover faster and enjoy their new vision in less time to do the things they love. SMILE is an excellent vision correction option with both easy surgery and recovery.

It also has incredible results, with most patients achieving 20/20 vision or better. The best part? Those results last.

It’s essential to remember that SMILE will not prevent you from developing age-related eye conditions as you get older, like cataracts or presbyopia. However, getting SMILE means looking forward to decades of better vision! What’s not to love about that?

Who is a Good Candidate for SMILE?

Do you think SMILE sounds like the procedure for you? The good news is that most people who want SMILE that are nearsighted with astigmatism are good candidates for the procedure.

Some candidacy factors include being at least 18, having a stable prescription that hasn’t changed in a year or more, and being healthy. These are only some factors, so the only way to determine if you qualify for SMILE is to schedule a consultation.

Get started by scheduling yours at Manhattan LASIK Center in Manhattan, NY, today! Why would you wait any longer if a world with better vision could be yours?