NewZNew (Chandigarh) : With increasing number of people opting for glass and contact lens free vision, GEI, regions leading eye care chain, introduces Small Incision Lenticule Extraction (SMILE) for making experiences even clearer and better. It’s an all new 3rd Generation Laser Vision Correction which has a minimally invasive and innovative procedure wherein instead of the excimer laser ablating the cornea, the femtosecond laser is used to create a lenticule which is then extracted through a keyhole corneal incision (2-4mm incision compare to 20mm used in Lasik).
Since its inception 30 years ago, all the advancements in LASIK have centered around one common denominator that is excimer laser. It started with surface ablation or PRK and moved onto use of Blade or Keratome to make the flap. Next major improvement was to make a flap with a laser of Bladefree LASIK. However, the common denominator remained excimer laser. With the introduction of Bladefree LASIK the complication related with the use of the blade or keratome were eliminated. However, the Bladefree LASIK is a flap procedure and the flap related complications still kept haunting LASIK surgeons.
SMILE is entirely new path and a concept to remove glasses. Dr Grewal brought this technique in which Excimer laser is not used for this procedure. SMILE is complete femtosecond laser based technique. Excimer laser changes the shape of the cornea by burning out the tissues on the surface of the cornea. SMILE makes / creates a lenticule within the cornea without making the flap by applying two layers of laser. A small 2mm incision is made to remove the lenticule. Since there is no flap, the flap related complications like, flap displacement, micro striae, diffuse lamellar keratitis or DLK, epithelial in growth, irregular astigmatism, folds in the flap and induced high order aberration are eliminated since the flap is not made.
When you make a flap, a side cut is made, which is perpendicular to the surface. This cut cuts the corneal lamellar which are place parallel to the surface. This reduces the strength of the cornea. SMILE achieves the desired correction without making a flap. It helps to maintain the strength of cornea and to keep the upper 120micron corneal tissue completely intact. The cornea after SMILE remains stronger and there are less chances of post LASIK ectasia. In fact no case of corneal ectasia has been reported so far in a normal cornea. The cornea is also strong enough to bear trauma. As there is no risk of flap displacement, SMILE offers a huge advantage for those who pursue active and adventure sports.
Dry eyes are a common squall of LASIK. Normal production of the tears is controlled by feedback sensations generated by sensors on the surface of the cornea. These sensors sense the dryness on the surface of the eye and thereby order the quality and quantity of the tears. While making a flap these nerves are cuts and normal feedback loop for production for quality and quantity of tears is interrupted. It takes six for the nerves to grow.
Since in SMILE you are not making any flap, fewer nerves are cut and the incidence of dryness is much less. In LASIK patients you have to take precautions for almost a week because if your touch your eyes there can be displacement of the flap even after couple of days after the procedure. With SMILE you can walk off from the operating table and there are no precautions. You can wash your face next day, you can have a head bath next days, you splash water on your closed eyes and clean the eyes right from the next day, and post-operative recovery period is much shorter and you can go back to your normal routine much earlier than LASIK. However, the vision in some cases may take two to three weeks to reach its peak.
Since the corneal strength is maintained SMILE is giving a much stable long-term results. SMILE is not a procedure, which can be done on all the eyes. You have to go through under certain tests only then we can decide that SMILE can be done or not. In SMILE during the procedure you have to look the green blinking light. The procedure last for about 25 seconds. In first 12 seconds you have to see the green blinking light but last 12 seconds when goes under the second pass you do not see the green light. However, you maintain your fixation on to the green light. If you have been withholding LASIK because of fears of safety or predictability or fear of sports injury to the eye, you have the option to go in for SMILE now.
After SMILE you can go for swimming or golf within few days and go back to the eye makeup also short in few days. It is great for girls going in for bridal makeup in near future.
Dr SPS Grewal, CEO of Grewal Eye Institute said, “Keeping in mind the fears and doubts that people have towards eye operation, we are glad to introduce SMILE, which is safe as well as pain free. It has also been an endeavour to conduct such plays so as to spread awareness which of great use to mankind. Hopefully patients will benefit from our initiative in short time with smiling faces.” He also added “GEI has always been at the forefront in bringing latest machines and new techniques & procedure to the region, thus benefiting the local populace. We believe, it is our duty to research, invent and innovate effective and efficient techniques which are of great use to mankind.”
We regularly keep conducting such seminars, at all our centers, to help local eye doctors keep abreast with the latest technological developments happening in the field of Ophthalmology. GEI has always been at the forefront in bringing latest machines and new techniques & procedure to the region, thus benefiting the local populace. We believe, it is our duty to spread the knowledge of the highly advanced tools that GEI surgeon’s use, but a local eye doctor might not have access to.
