How does SMILE compare with an implantable lens (ICL)?
SMILE reshapes the cornea and removes tissue; an implantable lens leaves the cornea intact and adds a lens inside the eye. They are used in different situations, most often at high prescriptions where too much corneal tissue would be needed.
- Subject
- Vision correction
- Topic
- Comparing procedures
- Kind of question
- How it works
- Procedures
- SMILE, ICL
- Last reviewed
- 22 September 2026
In more detail
The two are not competing for the same eye in most cases. Where a cornea cannot give up the tissue a laser procedure needs, a lens-based option may be the reasonable route, and where the eye is otherwise healthy with a moderate prescription, a corneal procedure usually is.
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It is one of 483 answers in the vision and eye health knowledge base, filed under Vision correction & laser eye surgery in Comparing procedures . The subject page carries the answers either side of it, and the hub is searchable.
Subjects this question touches
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- Procedure SMILE
- Comparison LASIK vs SMILE
- Comparison SMILE vs PRK
- Place SMILE in Dubai
- Comparison LASIK vs PRK
This information is for educational purposes and does not replace an examination by a qualified eye-care professional.
General answers cannot tell you what is happening in your own eyes. Only an examination by a qualified ophthalmologist can do that.
Sources & further reading
We prefer primary sources. Where a claim comes from a manufacturer, a single study or a regulator, it is labelled as such below.
- European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons
A European professional society for refractive and cataract surgery, publishing guidance and outcome registries.
Used for Refractive surgery outcome measurement and reporting.
Link checked 22 September 2026