Gwangju Shinsegae Eye Clinic Surpasses 90,000 SMILE LASIK Surgeries

Jaebong Kim, Director of Gwangju Shinsegae Eye Clinic.

Gwangju Shinsegae Eye Clinic announced on the 10th that the cumulative number of SMILE LASIK and SMILE PRO vision correction surgeries surpassed 90,000 eyes as of last month.

This represents an increase of approximately 10,000 eyes in less than a year since reaching 80,000 eyes last year, which is an exceptional achievement even for a single ophthalmology clinic.

SMILE (Small Incision Lenticule Extraction) surgery is performed using a minimally invasive corneal incision technique, where a laser is applied to the corneal stroma through the corneal surface. Since it does not require creating a corneal flap, it minimizes corneal damage and offers the advantage of reducing the incidence of complications associated with conventional methods, such as dry eye, corneal haze, and keratoconus.

Additionally, patients can return to their daily routines more quickly after surgery, and the procedure involves less pain, making it especially appealing to those seeking rapid recovery.

Since introducing SMILE LASIK for the first time in Gwangju and Jeonnam in 2013, Gwangju Shinsegae Eye Clinic has built nationwide trust beyond the local region, based on consistent surgical performance and high patient satisfaction.

The recent achievement of 90,000 eyes also includes cases of 'SMILE PRO' surgeries performed with the latest Visumax 800 equipment. SMILE PRO is a next-generation vision correction procedure that is more precise and safer than conventional SMILE LASIK, and has been performed over 200,000 times worldwide in the past one to two years.

The most significant difference between SMILE PRO and SMILE LASIK is the laser irradiation speed. For SMILE PRO, the laser is applied for less than 10 seconds per eye, which is about three times faster than before. This reduces the burden on patients during surgery, lowers the risks of dryness and infection, and accelerates recovery.

Moreover, the newly added OcuLine function recognizes slight eye rotation that may occur when the patient is lying down for surgery compared to sitting during examination, enabling precise correction of astigmatism by capturing the rotated axis. The Central Line function tracks the visual axis in real time during surgery, leading to clearer results.

The risk of suction loss, which occurs when the eye fixation during surgery is released, has also been significantly reduced, decreasing fatigue for both patients and medical staff.

Jaebong Kim, Director of Gwangju Shinsegae Eye Clinic, stated, "While SMILE surgery offers many advantages, it is essential to verify the surgeon's extensive clinical experience and proficiency, as the separation of the corneal stroma is performed manually. In particular, SMILE PRO equipment is only introduced to clinics that meet various criteria, such as the number of SMILE LASIK procedures performed and patient satisfaction. Therefore, if you are considering SMILE surgery, it is crucial to check the surgeon's experience and the clinic's equipment before making a decision."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.