Patients still smiling

SMILE procedure only rarely has intraoperative complications

Roibeard O’hEineachain

Published: Saturday, February 22, 2020

A review of more than 2,000 patients who underwent small lenticule extraction (SMILE®) over the past seven years indicates that the procedure only rarely has intraoperative complications, said Detlev Breyer MD, Dusseldorf, Germany. Dr Breyer and his associates analysed videos from 2,165 consecutive eyes undergoing SMILE procedures performed at the Breyer-Kaymak-Klabe Eye Surgery & Premium Eyes in Duesseldorf, Germany, he told the 24th ESCRS Winter Meeting in Marrakech, Morocco. He noted that the SMILE procedure was completed in 2,143 eyes (98,98%) and aborted in 22 eyes. No patient lost more than one line of best-corrected visual acuity. Suction loss occurred in 15 eyes (1.25%) among which the procedure was completed in five eyes, but was aborted in 10 eyes. Among those 10 eyes, two underwent implantation of an implantable Collamer lens (ICL) and three resumed wearing spectacle or contact lenses. There were also three eyes in which the lenticule could not be removed, among which one eye underwent transepithelial PRK and two underwent ICL implantation. Meanwhile, only eight eyes required refractive retreatments, including PRK in seven eyes and ICL simplantation in one eye “We are still smiling and moving completely from LASIK to SMILE,” Dr Breyer added.