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SMILE could offer unique benefits to military population
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LOS ANGELES — Small incision lenticule extraction has the potential for minimal disruption to the ocular surface, less energy delivered to corneal tissue and less damage to corneal tissue, which means it may offer more benefits to the Department of Defense than the gold standard of surface ablation, according to a speaker here.
“It is a single technology-based procedure where the one laser platform does everything for you. It is a single-step procedure, so all the incisions and the dissections are accomplished during one patient interface,” Mark F. Torres, MD, said at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.
SMILE preserves the nerve supply everywhere except the side cut in the eye compared with LASIK preserving only the nerve supply through the hinge, which can result in increased dry eye symptoms, Torres said.
Torres noted the military’s refractive surgery programs would have to further examine the economic impact of SMILE, side effects, comparisons to standard refractive surgery, and the safety, risk and impact on recovery and return to duty on its service members before expanding its interest in the procedure. – by Robert Linnehan
Reference:
Torres MF. Update on small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE). Presented at: American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery annual meeting; May 5-9, 2017; Los Angeles.
Disclosure: Torres reports the views expressed in the presentation are his and do not represent official policy of the U.S. Army, the Department of Defense or the U.S. government. He reports no relevant financial disclosures.