Dr. Hannuy Choi, Chief Director of B&VIIT Eye Center, was invited as a speaker at HORIZON 2025, the ZEISS Asia-Pacific Symposium, where she delivered a lecture on “Essential Insights for SMILE Pro and SMILE Surgery Beginners.” The large-scale international event brought together more than 600 ophthalmologists from across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond to share the latest advancements and clinical experiences in SMILE Pro and SMILE surgery.
Step-by-Step Guidance for SMILE Surgery Beginners
In her lecture, Dr. Choi presented a step-by-step framework covering the entire surgical process—from preoperative preparation to postoperative management—designed to help beginners acquire surgical skills safely and effectively. She detailed strategies for achieving high-quality visual outcomes, including precise diagnostic protocols, surgical techniques for optimal clarity, and criteria for selecting suitable candidates. Her talk also addressed complication management, postoperative care, and vision stabilization protocols, drawing strong engagement from the audience.
SMILE Surgery as the Next-Generation Vision Correction
Dr. Choi highlighted the advantages of SMILE surgery, such as preserving corneal stability through a minimal 2 mm incision, reducing the risk of dry eye, and enabling faster recovery. She further emphasized that SMILE has evolved into SMILE Pro, which now offers higher precision in astigmatism correction and reduces surgical time by more than threefold, thereby enhancing both safety and patient comfort.
Korea’s Global Role in SMILE Surgery
In an interview during the symposium, Dr. Choi remarked:
“Although Korea accounts for only about 1% of the world’s population, we perform 14–15% of all SMILE surgeries globally. This means Korea has accumulated vast clinical expertise, which greatly benefits international surgeons who are new to SMILE.”
With over 10,000 SMILE and SMILE Pro procedures personally performed by Dr. Choi and more than 120,000 cases completed at B&VIIT Eye Center, the clinic continues to be invited to major global academic stages. This latest lecture once again affirms B&VIIT’s status as a leading institution in SMILE surgery, not only in Korea but also across the Asia-Pacific region, demonstrating its global leadership in refractive surgery.