To present the clinical outcomes of small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) including visual quality analysis in Korean patients with myopia

The medical records of 228 eyes of 116 patients who underwent SMILE in HanGil Eye Hospital LASIK Center from May 2014 to Feb 2015 and were followed-up for at least 3 months was analyzed retrospectively. The patients were followed up at 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after the operation. Refractive value, visual acuity, intraocular pressure, and visual quality were measured at each visit

Preoperatively, uncorrected distant visual acuity was 0.01 ± 0.02 in log MAR, spherical equivalent was -5.03 ± 1.72 diopters, intraocular pressure was 15.85 ± 2.85 mm Hg, and the objective scattering index (OSI) value was 0.68 ± 0.49. The postoperative uncorrected distant visual acuity was 0.13 ± 0.10, 0.05 ± 0.08, 0.04 ± 0.09, and 0.02 ± 0.04 and OSI was 2.16 ± 1.89, 1.25 ± 0.64, 1.14 ± 0.69, and 0.81 ± 0.36 at 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after the operation, respectively. The postoperative intraocular pressure was 12.55 ± 3.74 mm Hg, 13.03 ± 4.35 mm Hg, 11.65 ± 2.49 mm Hg at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after the operation. The efficacy of refractive surgery 3 months after the operation was 0.97 ± 0.11, the safety was 0.99 ± 0.10, and predictability was 99.56% and 100.00% at the range of ±0.5 diopters and ± 1.0 diopter, respectively.

The SMILE operation showed comparable clinical outcomes with conventional refractive surgery in terms of efficacy, safety, and predictability. Intraocular pressure and visual quality normalized gradually throughout the 3-month postoperative period.