What are the potential side effects after SMILE surgery?
SMILE surgery, one of the methods of vision correction surgery, is gaining popularity due to its short operation time and quick recovery. As you can resume daily activities and even wash your face the day after surgery, it’s highly favored by busy modern individuals. However, since it’s a surgery that involves some stimulation to the cornea, there is a possibility of some side effects, despite the fast recovery. Today, let’s take a look at the side effects of SMILE surgery.
Symptoms and Causes of Side Effects after SMILE surgery
One of the typical side effects of vision correction surgery is dry eye syndrome. There are nerves associated with tear secretion on the surface of the cornea. If these nerves are damaged during the vision correction surgery process, dry eye syndrome may occur. As time passes and the nerves recover, the symptoms of dry eye syndrome also improve.
With SMILE surgery, about 2mm of damage is caused to the corneal surface during the process of removing the cut corneal fragment. This can result in partial nerve damage and the possibility of developing symptoms of dry eye syndrome. However, compared to other laser vision correction surgeries, SMILE surgery causes less damage, allowing for faster recovery.
Another side effect is that vision may appear blurry after the surgery. However, it’s more accurate to consider this as a natural phenomenon rather than a side effect. Laser vision correction surgery corrects vision by corneal laser irradiation, which creates bubbles on the corneal surface. As a result, some blurriness may occur immediately after the surgery due to these bubbles. Since the bubbles disappear over time, this symptom can also be expected to improve within about 2 to 4 weeks. However, if more than a month has passed and your vision is still blurry or you feel that your vision is gradually decreasing, it is recommended to see an ophthalmologist.
Methods for Preventing Side Effects after SMILE surgery
Most side effects that may occur after SMILE surgery naturally improve over time. However, for those who wish to avoid these side effects as much as possible due to professional reasons or other factors, we recommend correcting vision through SMILE Pro, an upgraded version of SMILE surgery.
SMILE Pro reduces laser scanning time to about 10 seconds, minimizing the contact time between the cornea and the air layer. Moreover, the precision of the laser has been improved. It allows for uniform energy to be scanned at a uniform position, facilitating easier lenticule separation. As a result, the surgery time is shortened, reducing the stimulation to the eyes and minimizing patient discomfort. Furthermore, with the addition of the central line function, which automatically detects and corrects the center and movement of the eye, patients can expect even clearer vision quality after surgery.
The final method to prevent side effects after SMILE surgery is the experience and expertise of medical professionals. The process of removing the separated corneal substance during SMILE surgery and SMILE Pro surgeries should be precise and swift. At B&VIIT Eye Center, SMILE surgery and SMILE Pro surgeries are performed by ophthalmologists with over 100,000 surgeries of experience. With over 10 years of experience, our specialists provide excellent surgical skills, ensuring more satisfying surgeries.