ReLEx® SMILE® Surgery

Under normal circumstances, visual recovery for ReLEx® SMILE® is usually quite quick in the initial period. Patients usually can recover about 75% of their vision the very next day. The remaining 25%, which includes other aspects (such as contrast and haloes), will gradually recover in the following days and weeks. We usually advise patients to be diligent with the prescribed eyedrops as they also help with the recovery and stabilisation of vision after the surgery. It would be worthwhile to check in with your friend in a few weeks.

Take heart that most patients will achieve relatively good vision by 1 week after ReLEx SMILE. Keep in mind that as with LASIK and PRK, ReLEx SMILE patients may experience fluctuating vision in the initial post-operative period. They often transition through a period of dry eye for several week to months. This state of dryness tends to improve gradually. Meanwhile, be sure to be generous with your artificial tears usually provided after the surgery.

Steroid eyedrops are often used for a short period of time following LASIK or ReLEx SMILE to help with reducing post-operative inflammation. Your surgeon will usually check your intraocular pressure to determine that it is within the normal range both before and after your surgery. Should you have a rise in intraocular pressure whilst on steroid eyedrops, the situation is often easily managed either by stopping the use of the steroid drops or adding another pressure lowering drop to allow the use of steroid to continue until such time it is no longer required.

Most patients can resume cycling, jogging, gym and yoga 1 week after ReLEx SMILE. You are however advised to avoid water sports, hot yoga, jacuzzi and sauna for 1 month as the water is not clean enough. Also avoid contact sports like boxing, martial arts and badminton for 1 month as we are concerned something or someone may hit your eye. Do continue to use lubricating eyedrops generously, follow medication instructions and have your eyes reviewed by your eye surgeon in a timely manner. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

Your description that your vision is ”100%” at certain times does suggest that you have managed to obtain a successful outcome from your ReLEx SMILE surgery. The fact that your vision seems to fluctuate would suggest other possible causes of transient blurring of vision which may include blepharitis, dry eyes or fatigue.

Glad to hear that you are now able to see relatively well at far distances 2 days after ReLEx SMILE. From what you have described, it seems like you have some difficulty in reading at the moment. Without the benefit of examining you, I can only offer a few possibilities why this might be. To be honest, 2 days is still fairly early days in terms of visual recovery for any laser vision correction. At this time, there will be some element of post-operative healing present.

Thank you for the extensive information. Let us address the issues one at a time. With regards to enhancement surgery following ReLEx® SMILE®, it is usually enhanced by way of PRK as the prescription to correct by then is usually low. PRK, in this case, is able to offer distinct advantages for lower prescription for example, the benefits of a flapless treatment are preserved. LASIK may also be a possible method, however, it involves the creation of a flap which does have its own disadvantages.

It is good that you take notice of such symptoms and are aware of how your eyes are feeling as well as closely following the eye doctor’s advice. With regards to your situation, I would assume you swim in a swimming pool, yes? Swimming pool water contains significant amounts of chlorine and other chemicals which act as a disinfectant for hygiene purposes as public pools are shared areas. A common side effect of chlorine is that it dries out your skin, hair and eyes, and more so for the eyes if you do not use a pair of swimming googles.

One of the key aspects of any pre-ReLEx SMILE/LASIK evaluation is to exclude any abnormalities that may be present in the eye. A healthy eye is a pre-requisite to any form of refractive surgery including ReLEx SMILE and LASIK. The presence of a retinal tear would require that the tear be treated first before proceeding to ReLEx SMILE. Retinal tears if left untreated may result in retinal detachment, a potentially blinding condition. Hence, priority has to be given to managing the tear before it develops a retinal detachment.

The incidence of dry eye indeed has been reported to be lower in ReLEx SMILE than LASIK. A large part of this difference has been attributed to the fact that ReLEx SMILE is a flapless procedure requiring just 2 to 4mm sidecut as compared to LASIK which needs a 22mm sidecut. Hence, ReLEx SMILE has often been described as a minimally invasive form of laser vision correction. Now whether ReLEx SMILE is “the best option” for you is largely dependent on many factors that have to be taken into account when trying to determine which type of laser option best suits your eye.