SMILE® pro is the new ReLEx SMILE. This eye laser procedure is performed only with the latest ZEISS femtosecond laser VISUMAX. The VISUMAX 800, prepares a lenticule in about 10 seconds per eye. The SMILE pro procedure is painless and does not require the flap typical of LASIK. Here we explain all the steps from SMILE eye laser surgery to follow-up.
SMILE surgery is more demanding for the surgeon than LASIK or Femto-LASIK. The more SMILE laser eye surgery the eye surgeon has performed, the safer it is for you as a patient. Focus top physician (list of top physicians curated by the magazine Focus) Dr. Detlev R.H. Breyer has been using the eye laser procedure since 2011 and has already performed over 5.000 procedures independently with success. Since 2022, he is one of the five first worldwide to offer the latest procedure SMILE pro.
The SMILE surgery of our employee performed by Detlev Breyer in Düsseldorf, Germany.
You may not wear your contact lenses for three days before the operation. One day before the treatment and on the day of the treatment itself, you should not apply any facial creams, lotions, make-up or perfume. These products could increase the risk of infection or contamination of the operation site during the procedure and also afterwards. On the morning of the operation, please clean the area around your eyes carefully.
When you arrive at Premium Eyes on the day of the outpatient SMILE® treatment, you will first complete a form by hand. In it, you write down the following: Your name, your date of birth, which eye is to be operated and the agreed surgical method. This form is stapled to your surgery documents. This way, you can be absolutely sure that you will receive the right treatment. Half an hour before the eye laser treatment, you will receive a nasal spray to calm your nerves and also a pain killer if you want; however, we can promise to you that you won't need it.
In the operation theater, you will lie down comfortably on the patient bench. The surgeon will greet you and introduce himself by the name on the name tag he is wearing. An assistant will read out the data on the laser, and the doctor will compare them to your file; you are listening to all of this as well. All of this is for your and our safety. After the surface of your cornea was numbed with eye drops, a so-called eye speculum will be placed in your eye. This eye speculum prevents you from blinking during the procedure. The other eye is covered. To fix the eye in place for the procedure, a contact lens shaped like your cornea is used.
Step 1: First, the corneal flap inside the cornea (the lenticle) is prepared using the VISUMAX femtosecond laser. This procedure takes about 10 seconds. Meanwhile, you will see a bright spot but hardly feel anything.
Step 2: Immediately after the lenticle preparation, a small opening of 2 to 3 mm is cut - this is also done with the VISUMAX.
Step 3: Through this opening, the surgeon releases the lenticle and carefully pulls it out. Afterwards, the small incision opening is checked again.
Afterwards, like all our patients, you will be amazed at how quickly everything went and how little you felt. Because of the small opening, no postoperative precautions are necessary; you may exercise, wash your hair, or shower as soon as 20 minutes after the operation.
Already on the same day, most of our patients are happy about the newly gained quality of life. And many regret not having taken this step earlier.
On the day after the eye laser operation, the surgeon will examine your eyes again. The next check-ups are one week and one month later. After that, you only need to attend the usual check-ups, and of course you are also welcome to make an appointment if you have eye or vision problems.
If you only have come to us for the eye laser treatment, we will be happy to co-ordinate with your ophthalmologist whether aftercare can be performed by them. In this video our optometrist describes his experience after his ReLEx SMILE surgery (in german language).
If you are interested in having the best vision without glasses, please feel free to make an appointment with Dr. Breyer for a non-binding individual consultation or preliminary examination. You can make an appointment by phone, e-mail, WhatsApp or our appointment app. We are also happy to call you back. We are looking forward to your message.
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