How does SMILE Pro work?
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.
Quick answer
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.
A general answer about SMILE Pro, not advice about your own eyes. Only an ophthalmologist who has examined you can answer it for your case.
- Topic
- SMILE Pro basics
- Answer length
- Quick answer plus detail
- Sourced
- Yes
In more detail
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 The lenticule is then separated and withdrawn by the surgeon through that incision.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.
Related guides
Subjects this question touches
The pages that answer the subject behind the question, rather than the question itself.
- Procedure SMILE Pro
- Comparison SMILE Pro vs LASIK
- Place SMILE in Dubai
- Procedure SMILE
- Comparison LASIK vs SMILE
It describes what is generally true. Whether it applies to your eyes depends on measurements taken during an examination, and two people asking the same question can receive different answers. Read the answer as a starting point for the conversation, not as its conclusion.
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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.
- Small Incision Lenticule Extraction (SMILE)
A continuously updated clinical reference chapter covering SMILE indications, technique, outcomes and complications, written for clinicians.
Used for How the lenticule is created and removed; Indications and contraindications; Complication categories; Corneal biomechanics compared with flap-based surgery.
Link checked 22 September 2026