Eye Surgery Procedures Explained
Every operation this site covers, with a page each. What each procedure does, who it may be suitable for, and where to read the detail.
Quick answer
Refractive surgery changes how the eye focuses light, in one of three ways: reshaping the cornea with a laser (LASIK, SMILE, PRK), removing a clouded lens (cataract surgery), or adding or replacing a lens (ICL, RLE). Each page below covers one of them, and no single procedure suits everybody.
This is general information about procedures, not a recommendation. Which operation suits an eye is decided by an ophthalmologist holding your measurements, and different surgeons have different thresholds.
- Pages in this family
- 9
- Guides covering them
- 11
- Questions linked
- 8
9 pages in this family
- LASIK
Flap-based laser vision correction: a thin surface layer of the cornea is lifted, the tissue beneath it is reshaped, and the layer is replaced without stitches.
- Femto LASIK
LASIK in which the flap is created by a femtosecond laser instead of a mechanical instrument, which is a difference in how the flap is made rather than in what the procedure corrects.
- SMILE
Lenticule extraction: a lenticule is shaped inside the cornea and removed through a small incision, so there is no flap.
- SMILE Pro
The current generation of the SMILE platform, built around a faster laser and an automated centring step. The clinical idea is unchanged: a lenticule is removed through a small incision.
- PRK
Surface treatment: the outer layer of the cornea is removed and the tissue beneath it is reshaped, with no flap and no lenticule. The surface then regrows, which is why the first week is slower.
- TransPRK
A surface treatment in which the outer layer of the cornea is removed and the reshaping are done by the same laser pass, without a separate step and without touching the eye.
- Cataract surgery
The clouded natural lens is removed and replaced with an intraocular lens. It is the treatment for cataract, and the lens chosen during it is also what determines the reading and distance correction afterwards.
- Refractive lens exchange (RLE)
The natural lens is replaced with an intraocular lens for a refractive reason rather than because of cataract. It is a lens procedure, so it is the option that reaches prescriptions no corneal procedure can.
- ICL
An implantable lens is placed inside the eye in front of the natural lens. Nothing is removed from the cornea, which is why it comes up where a prescription is outside what corneal procedures can treat.
Subject pages in the knowledge base
- Vision correction & laser eye surgery
LASIK, SMILE, SMILE Pro, Femto LASIK, PRK and TransPRK explained, including how each one reshapes the cornea, what each can correct, and the honest comparison between them: which one suits a particular eye is a measurement question, not a preference.
- The surgery journey
From the first consultation to the last follow-up: what is measured and why, how to prepare, what happens on the day, and what a normal first week and first month actually look like.
Questions answered on these subjects
Guides that cover these subjects
- How LASIK works
The flap, the two lasers, and what the surface of the eye does afterwards.
- How SMILE works
Lenticule extraction explained: what the laser cuts, and what it removes.
- Recovery after laser eye surgery
What the first week is like, technique by technique, and activity by activity.
- Preparing for LASIK
Contact lenses, medication, transport, and the mistakes worth avoiding.
- The eye examination before surgery
What each test measures, and why a refraction on its own is not enough.
- Choosing an eye clinic in Dubai
What can be checked about a clinic, and what only the consultation will tell you.
- What is SMILE Pro?
What the procedure is, how lenticule extraction works, what it corrects and who it may suit.
- SMILE Pro in Dubai
What to expect from treatment in Dubai, how clinics are checked, and what international patients should know.
- Am I a candidate for SMILE Pro?
The factors an assessment settles, and why no page can decide suitability for a particular eye.
- The procedure, step by step
What happens before, during and immediately after treatment, and what it feels like.
- SMILE Pro questions, answered
The questions patients ask about SMILE Pro most often, grouped by topic and answered directly.
Retinal surgery, glaucoma surgery, squint correction and oculoplastic surgery are not covered as procedures here. Where they come up, they are explained inside the condition page they belong to.
These pages describe subjects, not people. Nothing here is a diagnosis, and none of it replaces an examination by a qualified ophthalmologist.