EuroEyes was one of the first clinics to bring in the next-generation Carl Zeiss Visumax-800 laser. This new laser machine represents a significant step forward from the previous model and is the only way to provide cutting-edge SMILE Pro treatment.
While the procedure has always been relatively quick and non-invasive, the new technology will make it even faster, more accurate and less stressful for our patients. The Visumax-800 uses digital mapping technology to orient the laser to the eye for precision targeting during treatment ensuring it is correctly oriented for optimal treatment.
SMILE Pro is suitable for patients who are short-sighted and/or have astigmatism.
Take advantage of our exclusive SMILE Pro promotion at EuroEyes London. Patients can currently enjoy £750 off per eye, a total saving of £1,500, when choosing this advanced minimally invasive laser eye surgery.
Was £5,500 for both eyes. Now £4,000 for both eyes.
The VISUMAX 800 from ZEISS represents the latest generation of femtosecond laser technology, delivering significantly faster treatment times than previous platforms while enabling smoother, more precise tissue separation during SMILE® Pro procedures.
At EuroEyes London, this advanced system allows our surgeons to perform minimally invasive vision correction with enhanced accuracy and comfort, helping patients move through treatment more quickly and return to life in the capital with greater visual clarity and confidence.
SMILE (Small Incision Lenticule Extraction) is a minimally invasive procedure where a laser creates a lenticule (or disc shape) inside the cornea, which is removed through a tiny incision. This reshapes the cornea to optimise focus and sharpen vision.
The cornea is made up of five layers, but SMILE ® Pro surgery focuses on the central layer, known as the stroma. During surgery, a computer-guided laser creates a precise lens-shaped disc (known as a lenticule) in the stroma. The shape of the lenticule is customised to correct the specific shape of your cornea. The laser then makes a tiny keyhole incision, and the lenticule is removed. When the process is complete, the cornea is shaped to optimise focus and sharpen vision long term.
The laser portion of the procedure is quick it’s all over in under 10 seconds. The technology is also designed to ensure it’s an extremely comfortable procedure. Although everyone is different, recovery is quick, most people will be feeling great the very next day.
Until now, refractive correction has usually involved the surgeon first cutting a flap, which was then folded back to remove corneal tissue point by point. SMILE Pro now enables laser vision correction without a corneal flap and thus minimally invasive.
The first step with the VisuMax is to create a refractive lenticule and a small incision of no more than two to three millimeters in the intact cornea, which can be done almost independently of the surrounding conditions and corneal condition.
In the second step, the lenticle is removed through the created incision. Since no flap is cut, this is only a minimal intervention in the biomechanics of the cornea.
Removal of the lenticle changes the cornea to achieve the desired refractive change.
During a non-binding, personal consultation, your doctor will first clarify with you whether your eyes are basically suitable for SMILE Pro treatment. For this purpose, all relevant eye parameters will be measured.
Before the operation, a comprehensive medical examination will follow. Before this examination, you should in any case refrain from wearing contact lenses, as they also change the shape of the cornea in the long term. You should not wear soft contact lenses for at least one week before the examination. For hard contact lenses, the interval should be at least two weeks. Lenses should then also not be worn in the same time window before the operation.
On the day before the treatment as well as on the day of the treatment itself, you should refrain from using cosmetic products such as face creams, lotions, and also make-up and perfume. They can increase the risk of infection or contamination of the surgical field. You should clean your eye area particularly thoroughly on the morning of the treatment day.
On the day of the operation, you should wear comfortable clothes if possible. You can eat and drink normally, but should not smoke. For reasons of hygiene, you should wash your face thoroughly once again and completely remove any make-up residue.
Then the actual procedure takes place, which is performed on an outpatient basis and takes only about 20 minutes for both eyes. First, the surgeon will greet you and once again match your personal data before your corneal surface is anesthetized with drops. To prevent blinking during the surgery, you will be fitted with what is called an eyelid opener. The other eye will be covered during the procedure.
Next comes the preparation of the lenticule in the cornea using the VisuMax femtosecond laser. A contact lens adapted to the shape of the cornea is used to fix the eye. You will see a bright spot during these steps, but hardly feel anything. Once the surgeon has prepared the lenticule, he or she uses the laser to cut a small opening of no more than four millimetres, through which he or she releases the lenticule and carefully pulls it out. The small incision closes by itself after the correction, so it does not need to be sutured. No separate postoperative precautions are required. You will probably be amazed as well as most other patients, at how quickly the procedure is over and that you hardly felt a thing. An eye bandage is not necessary, but sunglasses are recommended. No driving is allowed immediately after the treatment.
After the procedure, you should not rub your eyes. You will also receive antibiotic eye drops, which must be instilled into the eye five times a day for a week, as well as artificial tears, as needed. Normally, you can return to work after two to three days. You should also wait about three days before engaging in sporting activities. Swimming and sauna visits, on the other hand, should be avoided for about two weeks to reduce the risk of infection.
Medical checks take place after one day, one week and one month. Driving is allowed again only after medical permission, which can usually be given at the weekly check-up.
A femto-laser is an infrared light laser that treats tissue such as the cornea not only very precisely, but also with much less heat than other lasers. This proves to be a decisive advantage, especially in eye surgery. The femtosecond laser works on the basis of ultra-short light pulses. These last only fractions of a billionth of a second; their spot size is only 1/100 mm.
A specially developed laser system, the VisuMax femtosecond laser from Carl Zeiss, is used for SMILE treatment. This laser has already proven itself in Femto-LASIK procedures with its sophisticated technology, precision and reliability. Through further development, it is now possible for the first time to prepare a lenticule within the intact cornea with millimeter precision, so that larger incisions and a flap can be dispensed with. In this way, the surrounding corneal tissue is spared as much as possible and the visual defect can be corrected in a targeted manner.
In addition to its high precision, a particular advantage of femtosecond technology is that it is highly reproducible and accurately predictable even when high corrections are involved.
In order to avoid unnecessary compression of the cornea, a contact lens is used that is adapted to the individual corneal anatomy and allows a precisely fitting treatment. This also avoids short-term visual loss, which can be caused by excessive intraocular pressure.
In addition to state-of-the-art laser technology, a functionally sophisticated and ergonomically shaped patient couch has also been developed for ReLEx treatments, allowing for maximum comfort and the most relaxed position possible during the procedure. During the operation, the patient’s position is continuously monitored and can be automatically readjusted if necessary.
At EuroEyes London, we help patients with a number of visual impairments, including presbyopia, myopia, and cataracts. Our team has performed the most SMILE Pro laser eye surgeries across Europe and are experts in the field of refractive surgery.
We offer a full range of treatments at our London clinic, based in the prestigious Knightsbridge neighbourhood. Book your SMILE Pro appointment today to save £1,500 on surgery for both eye
Choosing the right laser eye procedure depends on your prescription, corneal thickness, lifestyle and visual needs. SMILE Pro is particularly suitable for adults with stable myopia and astigmatism, and can be an excellent option for those with thin corneas or concerns about dry eye symptoms. During your consultation at EuroEyes London, our specialists will assess your eyes using advanced diagnostics to determine whether SMILE Pro is your safest, most effective path to clearer vision.
SMILE Pro is typically best suited for adults whose vision has fully stabilised, which for most people is between the ages of 20 and 40. In this age range, prescriptions for short-sightedness (myopia) and astigmatism are more likely to remain consistent, allowing the correction to deliver long-term visual stability.
For patients in their 20s and 30s, SMILE Pro can be an excellent option when the eyes are otherwise healthy and free from age-related changes. Beyond the age of 40, natural changes in near vision (presbyopia) begin to influence treatment planning. While SMILE Pro may still be appropriate in selected cases, alternative solutions, such as PRESBYOND laser blended vision or lens-based procedures, may offer better overall visual balance depending on lifestyle and reading needs.
| Age Range | Suitability for SMILE Pro | Expected Visual Outcome | Clinical Considerations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20–25 | ✔️ | Excellent distance vision when prescription is stable | Suitable once prescription has been stable for at least 12 months |
| 26–39 | ✔️ | Highly predictable long-term distance vision | Ideal age range for SMILE Pro with stable myopia or astigmatism |
| 40–45 | ✔️ | Strong distance vision; reading glasses often required | Early presbyopia may influence treatment choice or targeting |
| 46–55 | ❌ | Distance-only correction may not meet full visual needs | PRESBYOND or lens-based solutions often provide better balance |
| 55+ | ❌ | Limited benefit from corneal laser correction | Lens replacement or cataract surgery usually recommended |
Many patients describe the moment afterwards as a quiet shift rather than a dramatic change, waking up and simply seeing the world as it is, without the interruption of lenses or the habit of reaching for glasses. For those living and working in a fast-paced city like London, that clarity becomes part of everyday life, from early commutes to late evenings, offering a sense of visual freedom that feels natural rather than clinical.
The corneal opening with the SMILE Pro method is significantly smaller (2 mm) than with LASIK (20 mm). The cornea remains stable and the tear flow remains intact.
Although flap complications are very rare with a LASIK incision, they are completely eliminated with SMILE Pro treatment due to the keyhole technology.
With the SMILE Pro procedure, the surgeons work with the so-called keyhole technology. The cornea remains stable and the tear flow is hardly disturbed compared to LASIK.
For the SMILE Pro laser procedure, only a tiny opening in the uppermost corneal layer of about 2 mm is necessary (keyhole technology). In comparison, with conventional LASIK, a flap of about 20 mm is prepared.
The SMILE Pro procedure uses solely a femtosecond laser (VisuMax from Zeiss). Femtosecond technology is considered worldwide to be the most modern, safest and most precise method for the correction of refractive errors.
Both SMILE and LASIK are laser vision correction procedures, but SMILE is completely flapless and uses a single femtosecond laser to create and remove a small lenticule from within the cornea, whereas LASIK involves creating a corneal flap and reshaping tissue under it. SMILE’s minimally invasive approach can lead to faster functional recovery and a reduced risk of dry eye symptoms for many patients.
The SMILE Pro procedure is even suitable for patients with higher refractive errors, thinner corneas or dry eyes. Thus, myopic patients up to -10 diopters can be treated with the SMILE Pro procedure. With Femto-LASIK, treatment was only recommended up to a maximum of -8 diopters. A thinner cornea (min. 480 micrometers) is also not a problem, because the cornea remains fully intact with the SMILE Pro procedure and the tissue removal is not as deep. Since, in contrast to Femto-LASIK, the nerves in the uppermost layer of the cornea, which are necessary for the regulation of the tear film, are largely preserved, the risk of dry eyes after the operation is also reduced. Another advantage: Pain or a strong foreign body sensation on the cornea is hardly to be expected with SMILE, since the laser treatment takes place inside the cornea.
A minimum age of 18 years is required for laser eye treatment.
Your values should be stable for about one year before treatment. If in doubt, come to us and we will check your visual acuity conscientiously.
As a rule, the day after the procedure you can already see 80-90% of what you could see before with your visual aids and within 3 days you will have full visual acuity.
EuroEyes pays the utmost attention to maintaining high standards of quality and hygiene, as a result, the rate of complications during laser vision correction is extremely low. Real complications are extremely rare. In order to achieve an optimal healing process, it is very important that patients conscientiously keep their follow-up appointments. It is also essential to follow the drop schedule and the instructions given to the patient by the staff for the time after the treatment. The side effects that can occur during laser vision correction are usually short-term and harmless and treatable until full recovery.
Many patients notice clearer vision within 24-48 hours, with continued improvement over the first few weeks. Recovery tends to be quick due to SMILE’s small incision and minimal tissue disturbance.
