Small incision lenticule extraction

The SMILE procedure developed by Carl Zeiss Meditec for refractive surgery stands for Small Incision Lenticule Extraction. Zeiss says the procedure combines state-of-the-art femtosecond laser technology and precise lenticule extraction providing a micro-invasive laser vision correction method. Unlike LASIK, in which an excimer laser ablates tissue inside the cornea after opening the corneal surface by cutting a corneal flap, the SMILE procedure is performed without a flap. The ZEISS femtosecond laser VisuMaxR is used to create a very thin disc of tissue (lenticule) inside the intact cornea, which can then be extracted through a small incision. An excimer laser is not required, according to the company. “With SMILE, ophthalmic surgeons now for the first time have a refractive surgery procedure that provides great benefits for their patients with the least possible intervention: the cornea of the eye remains intact as much as possible; the predictability of the correction is very good,” says Ludwin Monz, president and CEO of Carl Zeiss Meditec AG.

www.meditec.zeiss.com