Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Sep-Oct;8(5):397-405.
doi: 10.1097/01.APO.0000580136.80338.d0.

Dry Eyes After SMILE

Angela H Y Wong  1 , Rachel K Y Cheung  2 , Wee Nie Kua  1 , Kendrick C Shih  3 , Tommy C Y Chan  4   5 , Kelvin H Wan  1   4
Affiliations
Review

Dry Eyes After SMILE

Angela H Y Wong et al. Asia Pac J Ophthalmol (Phila). 2019 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

Dry eyes is one of the most common complications after laser vision correction. Small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) is a flapless procedure with a smaller corneal incision, less corneal nerves are transected during, making it theoretically less prone to dry eyes. Both SMILE and femtosecond-laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (FS-LASIK) induce a transient worsening in dry eye parameters, but there is evidence showing that SMILE holds promises to have fewer negative impacts on the ocular surface parameters and allow an earlier recovery. SMILE-treated eyes may also have shown less corneal denervation and better corneal sensitivity compared with FS-LASIK eyes. This review summarizes the mechanisms of dry eyes after laser vision correction, the short-term (≤6 months) and long-term (>6 months) results in changes to dry eyes signs and symptoms, and corneal sensitivity of SMILE, as compared with FS-LASIK. Limitation of the studies and reasons accounting for their discrepancies will be discussed. Future randomized controlled trials with standardized postoperative regime are needed for better evaluation of dry eyes after SMILE.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Flowchart showing how the studies were identified.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Toda I. LASIK and the ocular surface. Cornea 2008; 27 (suppl 1):S70–S76. - PubMed
    1. Eydelman M, Hilmantel G, Tarver ME, et al. Symptoms and satisfaction of patients in the patient-reported outcomes with laser in situ keratomileusis (PROWL) studies. JAMA Ophthalmol 2017; 135:13–22. - PubMed
    1. Bower KS, Sia RK, Ryan DS, et al. Chronic dry eye in photorefractive keratectomy and laser in situ keratomileusis: manifestations, incidence, and predictive factors. J Cataract Refract Surg 2015; 41:2624–2634. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mian SI, Li AY, Dutta S, et al. Dry eyes and corneal sensation after laser in situ keratomileusis with femtosecond laser flap creation effect of hinge position, hinge angle, and flap thickness. J Cataract Refract Surg 2009; 35:2092–2098. - PubMed
    1. Muller LJ, Marfurt CF, Kruse F, et al. Corneal nerves: structure, contents and function. Exp Eye Res 2003; 76:521–542. - PubMed

MeSH terms