I have. I had the SMILE procedure done just under 2 months ago now so I can't speak on the long-term effects yet.
The procedure was really quick (+- 5 minutes) and painless. I was told that it might feel like I have sand in my eyes for the rest of the day after the numbing eyedrops wore off but I only experienced very minor discomfort, not anywhere near as close as having sand in your eyes.
The first hour after the surgery it looks as if you are looking underwater (slight white haze) due to the eye drops they put in your eye during the procedure but that quickly fades. My vision was improved directly after the surgery and it only took around 2-3 hours to reach 100% (or close). I watched some TV that night and even answered some emails although it took 1-2 seconds to really focus on my small laptop screen.
Next day my vision was perfect and I could see everything close and far away without issues and even went back to work. I had slight starburst at night (there is a picture with an example in the article) on small and direct light sources like a street post but that I was told that would disappear in a few months and so far it has been improving every week. I now only see it slightly on tiny light sources like the stand-by LED of a TV or monitor. With the rate of improvement after the surgery I expect that the starburst is soon going to disappear completely but even if it would stay like this I would 100% choose to get the surgery again.
They gave me eye drops for eye dryness. You take them every half hour for the first week, every hour for the week after that and then switch to 6-12 times a day depending on your needs and stop completely after 3 months. In the beginning I really felt like I needed to follow that schedule closely but now I sometimes forget because my eyes don't feel dry anymore.
Everything considered this has been one of the best decisions of my life and the quality of life improvement is huge.
Although SMILE was significantly more expensive (3300 vs 2300 for Lasik) I don't think you should try to cheap out on eye surgery. Not having a flap like LASIK makes a huge difference in terms of recovery speed and risk of complications.
If anyone has any other questions I would be happy to answer them.
Similar story here. I had SMILE 1.5 months ago with great results so far. No noticeable change in night vision, although definitely noticeable dry eye.
SMILE is available in the US, but not if you have astigmatism. I had to go to Canada to get my surgery because of this. SMILE with astigmatism correction is undergoing FDA review currently, with approval expected sometime this year (according to the US optometrist I spoke to).
The procedure was really quick (+- 5 minutes) and painless. I was told that it might feel like I have sand in my eyes for the rest of the day after the numbing eyedrops wore off but I only experienced very minor discomfort, not anywhere near as close as having sand in your eyes.
The first hour after the surgery it looks as if you are looking underwater (slight white haze) due to the eye drops they put in your eye during the procedure but that quickly fades. My vision was improved directly after the surgery and it only took around 2-3 hours to reach 100% (or close). I watched some TV that night and even answered some emails although it took 1-2 seconds to really focus on my small laptop screen.
Next day my vision was perfect and I could see everything close and far away without issues and even went back to work. I had slight starburst at night (there is a picture with an example in the article) on small and direct light sources like a street post but that I was told that would disappear in a few months and so far it has been improving every week. I now only see it slightly on tiny light sources like the stand-by LED of a TV or monitor. With the rate of improvement after the surgery I expect that the starburst is soon going to disappear completely but even if it would stay like this I would 100% choose to get the surgery again.
They gave me eye drops for eye dryness. You take them every half hour for the first week, every hour for the week after that and then switch to 6-12 times a day depending on your needs and stop completely after 3 months. In the beginning I really felt like I needed to follow that schedule closely but now I sometimes forget because my eyes don't feel dry anymore.
Everything considered this has been one of the best decisions of my life and the quality of life improvement is huge.
Although SMILE was significantly more expensive (3300 vs 2300 for Lasik) I don't think you should try to cheap out on eye surgery. Not having a flap like LASIK makes a huge difference in terms of recovery speed and risk of complications.
If anyone has any other questions I would be happy to answer them.