These are the forty-nine questions about SMILE Pro itself, with the supporting detail and the
sources attached. The search above covers them as well.
SMILE Pro basics
What the procedure is, what it corrects, and how it relates to SMILE and LASIK.
SMILE Pro is a form of laser vision correction in which a femtosecond laser creates a thin, lens-shaped layer of tissue inside the cornea (called a lenticule) which is then removed through a small incision. It corrects short-sightedness and astigmatism without creating the corneal flap that LASIK uses.
The underlying technique is called small incision lenticule extraction, or SMILE. The "Pro" refers to the treatment performed on a newer generation of laser platform. Removing the lenticule changes the curvature of the cornea, which changes where incoming light comes to a focus inside the eye.
SMILE is one of several refractive surgery options. It is not the only one, and it is not automatically the right one: suitability depends on measurements taken during a clinical examination.
SMILE stands for Small Incision Lenticule Extraction. It is refractive eye surgery that reshapes the cornea by removing a lenticule of tissue through a small incision, rather than by lifting a flap as LASIK does, or by removing the surface layer of the cornea as PRK does.
Because "SMILE" describes the technique rather than a specific brand, you will see it written as ReLEx SMILE, SMILE, or SMILE Pro. All three describe lenticule extraction on a ZEISS VISUMAX platform; the differences between the generations are in the platform and the surgical workflow, not in the basic optical principle.
A femtosecond laser separates a thin disc of corneal tissue at a depth and shape calculated from your prescription. The surgeon then removes that lenticule through a small incision. Removing the tissue flattens the centre of the cornea, which moves the eye’s focal point back onto the retina.
The laser does not remove tissue itself. It creates the boundaries of the lenticule (the shape of the piece to be taken out) and the small incision. The lenticule is then separated and withdrawn by the surgeon through that incision.
Because the outer surface of the cornea is left intact apart from a small incision, the procedure is sometimes described as flapless or minimally invasive. Those words describe the access route, not the amount of corneal tissue that is removed.
Both perform lenticule extraction. SMILE Pro is the same procedure performed on the newer ZEISS VISUMAX 800 platform instead of the earlier VISUMAX generation, which the manufacturer describes as faster and as including automated centration and rotation-compensation features.
The practical difference for a patient is mostly about workflow and how the clinic verifies alignment, not about a change in the optical principle of the surgery.
The comparison evidence between the two generations is still limited and comes mainly from individual clinical studies rather than pooled analyses, so it should not be treated as settled. If a clinic charges a premium for "Pro", ask what platform is installed, and ask to see their own outcome data.
Technology & terminology
Platform names, brand vocabulary, and what a clinic is actually claiming.
ZEISS is the manufacturer of the VISUMAX laser platform, and "ZEISS SMILE pro" is the manufacturer’s own name for lenticule extraction performed on the VISUMAX 800. A clinic using the term is signalling that it uses that platform.
Because the brand is owned by the manufacturer, the phrase is partly marketing. The verifiable questions are which device is physically installed at the clinic you are considering, whether it is serviced and current, and who operates it.
Brand vocabulary is a poor substitute for two things: your measurements, and the surgeon’s own results.
The VISUMAX 800 is a femtosecond laser made by ZEISS, used to perform lenticule extraction and to create LASIK flaps. It is the platform associated with the SMILE Pro name and is the successor to the earlier VISUMAX generation.
Femtosecond lasers cut by creating tiny bubbles of plasma inside the cornea at a precise depth, rather than by removing tissue with an excimer laser. That is why the same class of device can both create a LASIK flap and carve out a lenticule.
Manufacturer materials describe shorter laser application times and automated alignment features. Those are manufacturer claims about the device; they are not a statement about how well any individual patient will see afterwards.
Yes, no flap is created. The surgeon reaches the lenticule through a small incision rather than by lifting a layer of the cornea. The cornea is still cut, and tissue is still removed, so "flapless" describes the access route rather than the absence of surgery.
This distinction matters because "flapless" is sometimes used in marketing to imply that nothing structural happens to the cornea. That is not accurate. What changes is that there is no hinged flap to reposition, and no flap to displace later.
During the procedure
What happens in the treatment room and what patients report feeling.
The laser portion of a SMILE treatment is short, and the total time you spend in the clinic (including preparation, anaesthetic drops and settling afterwards) is considerably longer than the treatment itself. We deliberately do not publish a single figure in minutes because it depends on your prescription, the platform and how the clinic runs its list.
If a clinic quotes you a precise total visit time, ask whether that includes waiting, the pre-treatment preparation and the post-treatment check. Those are the parts that most often extend a visit beyond what a patient expected.
The eye is numbed with anaesthetic drops, so the treatment itself is usually experienced as pressure, a suction sensation, and awareness of light rather than pain. Many patients report a gritty or watery feeling for some hours afterwards. Individual experience varies, and you should say so immediately if you feel actual pain during the procedure.
Needle injections around the eye are not used for refractive laser surgery. If you are anxious about the sensation, ask the clinic to describe the sequence in advance: knowing that a pressure sensation is expected is often what makes it tolerable.
Often yes, and this is common practice. Some surgeons prefer to treat the two eyes at separate visits. The decision is a clinical one that depends on your prescription, your measurements, the condition of each eye and the surgeon’s judgement.
The platform tracks the eye, and the surgeon monitors the treatment continuously. If the eye moves beyond what the system can compensate for, the treatment can be paused or, in some cases, stopped and rescheduled. Ask your surgeon what the plan is if that happens to you: a good answer will be specific rather than reassuring.
No. Removing corneal tissue is permanent. Some residual prescription after surgery can be treated with a further procedure in carefully selected cases, but the original tissue cannot be put back.
Because refractive surgery is irreversible, the preoperative assessment is the single most important part of the process. A clinician declining to operate is a positive sign, not a wasted appointment.
Usually yes. Soft and rigid contact lenses can temporarily change the shape of the cornea, which distorts the measurements used to plan surgery. Clinics will specify how long to leave lenses out before your assessment, and the required period differs depending on the lens type.
Eligibility & assessment
The factors an ophthalmologist assesses before agreeing to operate.
You may be considered if you are an adult with a stable prescription, short-sightedness or astigmatism within the range the platform and surgeon treat, a cornea of adequate thickness and normal shape, and a healthy ocular surface. Only a full ophthalmic assessment can determine whether that applies to you.
Factors that commonly rule refractive surgery out include an unstable prescription, keratoconus or suspicious corneal topography, significant dry eye, active eye disease, certain autoimmune conditions, and pregnancy or breastfeeding.
Eligibility is not a yes-or-no test that produces the same answer everywhere. Different surgeons have different thresholds, and some are willing to operate in marginal cases where others are not. You are entitled to ask about that.
Surgeons generally look for a prescription that has been stable for a period of time rather than one that is still changing, because operating on a moving target increases the chance of a residual error. How long counts as stable is a clinical judgement, and your surgeon should tell you what they require and why.
Bring previous prescriptions or spectacle records to your assessment if you have them. Eyewear history is often the simplest evidence of stability, and Dubai clinics see many patients who moved here recently and no longer have access to their former optometrist.
Yes. Short-sightedness is the primary indication for SMILE. There are limits on how much correction can be treated, and those limits depend on the platform, your corneal thickness and your surgeon’s assessment rather than on a single published figure.
Yes. SMILE corrects myopic astigmatism (astigmatism that occurs alongside short-sightedness) and the treatment is shaped to the axis as well as the amount of your astigmatism.
Because astigmatism has a direction as well as a magnitude, correct alignment matters. The newer platform generation includes automated features intended to help with rotational alignment. Ask your surgeon how alignment is confirmed for your eye, and what proportion of their patients have residual astigmatism afterwards.
SMILE is established for short-sightedness and myopic astigmatism. Long-sightedness is not a routine SMILE indication on the platforms in widespread use, and availability varies by platform generation, country and surgeon.
Some hyperopic lenticule techniques have been studied and some platforms have pursued regulatory clearances in specific markets, which is not the same as a routine, widely available treatment. If a clinic offers hyperopic SMILE, it is reasonable to ask how many such procedures the surgeon has performed, what the local regulatory status is, and what published outcomes exist for hyperopic lenticule extraction specifically.
If your main goal is correcting long-sightedness, ask what the established alternatives are for your eyes. That is a legitimate question and a good clinic will answer it directly.
Refractive surgery is generally considered for adults whose prescription has stabilised, so the lower limit is about stability rather than a birthday. At the upper end, the practical issue is that reading vision changes with age regardless of surgery, and eyes may develop cataract or other conditions later.
If you are approaching the age at which reading glasses become likely, ask your surgeon to explain how surgery will affect your reading vision and what that will feel like day to day. That conversation is more useful than a yes-or-no on age.
It depends on how severe your dry eye is, what is causing it and how it responds to treatment. Mild, well-controlled dry eye may not be a barrier. Significant or untreated ocular surface disease is often a reason to treat the surface first, to delay, or to advise against refractive surgery altogether.
This is one of the reasons a thorough preoperative assessment matters. Tear film, meibomian gland function and ocular surface staining are measurements, not opinions, and they should be taken before anyone quotes you a price.
It depends entirely on what was done and what your cornea looks like now. Previous refractive surgery, corneal transplants, certain retinal procedures and significant prior trauma all change the assessment, and some make lenticule extraction inappropriate.
Bring your operative records if you can obtain them. Where records are unavailable, corneal imaging and a careful examination carry much of the weight.
Refractive surgery is generally deferred during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Hormonal changes can affect refraction, tear film and corneal hydration, which makes measurements less predictable and results harder to judge.
Clinics typically ask you to wait until a period after breastfeeding has ended before assessment, so that measurements are taken from a stable baseline. Your surgeon will give you a specific timing recommendation.
They can. Some autoimmune and immune-mediated conditions, and some of the medications used to treat them, are associated with poorer corneal healing or an increased risk of ocular surface problems. Whether they rule surgery out depends on the specific condition, how well controlled it is and your medication.
Cost & clinics in Dubai and the UAE
How refractive surgery is priced, and how to compare quotes properly.
We do not publish a single average price, because there is no single price. Refractive surgery in Dubai is quoted per patient according to the clinic, the surgeon, your prescription, the platform used and what the package includes, and published prices are often quoted per eye rather than for both eyes, which makes headline figures misleading.
The practical approach is to ask for a written, itemised quote that states explicitly whether it covers one eye or both, which preoperative tests are included, what medication and follow-up appointments are included, and what happens financially if you need an enhancement.
Where a clinic publishes a price publicly, our clinic profiles record it as published by that clinic, with the date it was checked. We do not fill gaps with estimates.
Pricing varies between emirates and between facilities, and the same procedure may be quoted differently by a hospital-based service and a standalone clinic. The structure of the quote matters more than the headline number, so compare what is included rather than comparing totals.
If you are travelling to the UAE for treatment, ask how the quote handles follow-up after you return home. A cheaper quote that leaves you without a route to aftercare is not cheaper.
The main variables are the clinic and its overheads, the surgeon, the laser platform, which preoperative tests are included, medication, the number and location of follow-up visits, the clinic’s policy on enhancements, and whether your eyes need anything in addition to the standard treatment.
Price differences are not automatically a quality signal in either direction. A high price does not guarantee a better outcome, and an unusually low price usually means something has been excluded from the quote, sometimes the follow-up.
Refractive laser surgery for the correction of short-sightedness or astigmatism is generally treated as an elective procedure and is commonly excluded from UAE health insurance plans, though individual policies differ.
Ask your insurer directly, and ask the clinic for the exact procedure and medical codes they will submit so your insurer can give you a definite answer rather than a general one.
Dubai has a substantial refractive surgery sector and lenticule extraction is offered by a number of licensed facilities. Which specific platform generation each clinic has installed is a separate question, and it is worth asking directly rather than assuming from a website.
We are building a verified directory of clinics that offer SMILE Pro-style lenticule extraction. We publish a clinic only once we have checked its licence and its stated technology, which is why the directory fills gradually rather than all at once.
Check that the facility and the operating surgeon both hold current Dubai licences, ask which specific laser platform is installed, confirm who performs the surgery and who handles follow-up, and get an itemised written quote. Then compare what each quote includes rather than the totals alone.
The two questions that separate clinics most clearly are: who will actually perform my surgery, and who do I contact on a Sunday night if something concerns me. Vague answers to either are a reason to keep looking.
Recovery & everyday life
Driving, work, exercise, swimming, travel and screen use afterwards.
Functional vision often improves quickly, and many patients notice a substantial change within the first day, but refraction typically takes weeks to months to stabilise. Fluctuation during the early period is expected rather than a sign that something has gone wrong.
We do not publish a single recovery figure because healing varies between individuals and depends on your prescription and your eye. Follow the timelines your own surgeon gives you, and attend the follow-up appointments so that anything unusual is caught early.
Not immediately. You should arrange transport home on the day of treatment. Resuming driving depends on your vision meeting the legal standard and your surgeon confirming it is safe, and many clinics advise against driving until that check has happened.
Beyond the legal standard, there is a practical one: night driving and driving in glare conditions place more demand on vision than daylight driving. Be honest with yourself about whether you feel confident, and ask your surgeon to confirm the timing.
Many people return to desk-based work after a short period, sometimes the next working day, while jobs involving heavy physical work, dust, or a risk of eye trauma usually require longer. Screen-heavy work can be uncomfortable at first even when vision is good.
If your work is screen-based, plan for shorter working blocks and more frequent breaks in the first days. If your work involves dust, chemicals or impact risk, ask your surgeon to specify when you can return rather than estimating it yourself.
Light activity is often possible fairly soon, but contact sports and anything that risks a knock to the eye are usually restricted for longer. Ask your surgeon for timescales for your specific activity rather than applying a general rule.
Swimming and other water exposure are typically restricted for a period after refractive surgery because of the infection risk from water, and because chlorine and salt water irritate a healing ocular surface. The specific restriction period is your surgeon’s instruction to give, and it will be longer for open water than for a controlled pool.
Air travel after refractive surgery is commonly permitted, but the relevant issues are not the laser: they are the very dry cabin air, which can make an already dry ocular surface uncomfortable, and the timing of your follow-up appointments.
If you are travelling to Dubai for treatment, plan the trip so that your early follow-up happens before you fly home, and ask how remote follow-up would be arranged if a concern arose after you left.
Yes, but screen use tends to feel uncomfortable early on because people blink less when concentrating, which worsens dryness. Taking frequent breaks and using the lubricant drops your surgeon recommends usually helps.
Eye makeup is usually avoided for a period after surgery to reduce the risk of introducing particles and bacteria near the incision. Follow the specific instruction from your clinic, and be careful with mascara and eyeliner rather than assuming a general rule applies to everything.
Safety, risks & side effects
What is commonly reported, what is uncommon, and what is rare.
Refractive surgery including SMILE has an established safety record and serious complications are uncommon, but no refractive procedure is risk-free. Reported risks include dry eye, night vision symptoms, under- or over-correction, residual prescription, inflammation and, rarely, infection.
Safety for you specifically is a different question from safety in general. It depends on your corneal thickness and shape, your tear film, your prescription, your general health and the experience of the surgeon operating on you.
We do not quote complication rates. Rates differ between studies, populations and surgeons, and a number taken from someone else’s population would not tell you anything reliable about your own risk.
The most commonly reported side effects are dry eye or a gritty sensation, glare, halos, starbursts around lights, light sensitivity, and vision that fluctuates during the early healing period. Many of these improve over the first weeks and months, but some people report symptoms persisting longer.
Beyond side effects, the recognised risks include residual refractive error, under- or over-correction, the possible need for a further procedure, interface inflammation, and rarely infection or other serious complications. Some risk factors are detectable at assessment and some are not.
One risk worth understanding in advance is that if a residual prescription needs treating later, the options are not identical to those after LASIK, because there is no flap to lift. Treatments exist, but they are a different conversation.
It can. Any refractive procedure involves cutting corneal nerves, which affects the feedback loop that keeps the ocular surface comfortable and moist. Published evidence suggests early dry-eye signs and symptoms are generally less pronounced after SMILE than after flap-based LASIK, but the literature is not unanimous and many patients still experience dryness.
Most people who develop dryness after surgery find it improves over the first months. For a minority it is persistent. If you already have dry eye, that is a conversation your assessment should address directly rather than gloss over.
No single procedure is better for everyone. SMILE and LASIK both correct short-sightedness and astigmatism and both report high patient satisfaction. They differ in how the cornea is accessed, in the early recovery profile, and in how a re-treatment would be performed later.
Which is appropriate depends on your measurements, your tear film, your lifestyle and your surgeon’s assessment. Any clinic that tells you one procedure is the best choice for everybody is selling rather than assessing.
LASIK creates a hinged flap in the cornea, folds it back, removes tissue with an excimer laser and replaces the flap. SMILE removes a lenticule of tissue through a small incision inside an intact cornea, leaving no flap. The presence or absence of a flap is the structural difference from which most other differences follow.
In plain terms: LASIK opens the cornea like a book, works inside it and closes it again. SMILE takes a small piece out through a keyhole. Both change the shape of the cornea, and both involve cutting it.
Refractive surgery permanently changes the shape of the cornea, but it does not stop your eyes from changing over your life. Later changes include presbyopia, which affects reading vision and eventually affects everyone regardless of surgery, and the development of cataract.
A small residual or a later shift in prescription is also possible. Ask your surgeon what follow-up they offer over the years rather than only in the first month, because that is where long-term care actually matters.
Published studies of lenticule extraction generally report a high proportion of patients achieving good uncorrected vision, and satisfaction is high in most series. We do not publish specific success percentages, because figures differ substantially between studies, populations and surgeons and would not predict your own outcome.
A more useful question for a clinic is not "what is your success rate" (a number most clinics will answer with marketing) but "how many of your patients needed an enhancement last year, and how do you record and review your outcomes". A clinic that measures its results can answer that. A clinic that does not, cannot.
Enhancement is possible in selected cases, but it is a different situation from LASIK, where the original flap can often simply be lifted. After SMILE, options may include a surface ablation technique, or creating a flap in a second procedure, depending on your cornea and the residual prescription.
This is a good reason to ask any clinic what their enhancement policy covers: whether a second procedure is included in the original price, discounted, charged in full, or requires returning to the same surgeon.
Choosing a clinic or surgeon
How to check credentials, ask useful questions and spot sales pressure.
Verify the surgeon’s licence and qualifications through the relevant register, ask how many lenticule extractions they have performed and how often they do them, ask what they do when a case does not go to plan, and pay attention to whether they are willing to tell you that surgery is not right for you.
Volume is not the same as quality, but a very low volume is a legitimate question. So is whether the person who assesses you is the same person who operates: in some clinics the assessment is done by a different practitioner from the one who performs the treatment.
Ask which platform is installed and who operates it, what your corneal measurements are, how many of these procedures the surgeon performs and what their own revision rate is, exactly what the quote includes, who handles follow-up and out of hours care, and what the policy is if you need an enhancement.
There is a printable checklist of these questions available on this site. Take it to the appointment rather than trying to remember them under time pressure.