Conventional LASIK is a two step procedure.
1st step — is creation of a corneal flap using either a mechanical microkeratome or a Femtosecond Laser.
2nd step — is corneal ablation using an excimer laser to reshape the cornea by removing and ultra thin layer of the cornea to correct the refractive errors.
Small Incision Lenticule Extraction (SMILE) technique is a keyhole procedure, it eliminates the need to cut a corneal flap. A Femtosecond laser is used to dissect a lenticule in the corneal stroma without making a flap. The dissected lenticule is than removed from the cornea through a small incision which is 2-4 mm in size. This procedure is the safest and arguably the best Laser technique today.
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