Imagine waking up and seeing clearly before you even reach for your glasses. If you’ve been considering laser vision correction, SMILE is an option worth getting to know—and it’s now available at Benjamin Eye Institute. Let’s find out if it is the right choice for your eyes, your lifestyle, and the way you want to see the world!
You are tired of reaching for glasses before you reach for your phone. Contacts burn by evening. You have read about LASIK, PRK, ICL and now something called SMILE, and every article seems to say a different one is “the best.”
Here is the honest answer we give every patient: there is no such thing as the best vision surgery. There is only the best surgery for you.
SMILE stands for small incision lenticule extraction. It corrects nearsightedness, with or without astigmatism, using a single laser treatment and no flap.
Using the laser, we create a thin, lens-shaped piece of tissue inside the cornea. We then remove it through a small incision of only a few millimeters. Taking out that tissue changes the shape of the cornea, and your eye now focuses light correctly. The surface of the cornea is left largely intact.
SMILE is performed on the Zeiss VisuMax 800, the only one available in Los Angeles. Dr. Benjamin performs the procedure personally at Specialty Surgical Center in Beverly Hills.
With SMILE added, Benjamin Eye Institute now offers every modern option for vision correction: PRK, LASIK, SMILE, Visian ICL and refractive lens exchange. That matters for you, because a practice with only one tool tends to recommend that tool. We have no reason to steer you toward any of them.
Your prescription is a useful starting guide, though it is not the only factor. For nearsightedness, this is how we typically think about it:
| Nearsighted prescription | Options we typically consider first |
| Up to about –2.00 | PRK or LASIK |
| About –2.00 to –6.00 | LASIK or SMILE |
| Beyond –6.00 | Visian ICL |
These are guidelines, not rules. Corneal thickness and shape, the amount of astigmatism, your age, how dry your eyes are, your work, and the sports you play can all move the best answer up or down this chart. That is why your examination matters more than the number on your prescription.
SMILE treats nearsightedness and nearsighted astigmatism. It does not treat farsightedness.
None of these is better in every eye. Each is the right choice for some patients and the wrong one for others.
Dry eye is one of the most common reasons good vision surgery leaves a patient disappointed. Before any procedure, we evaluate and treat the surface of your eye so that measurements are accurate and healing goes well. Because SMILE does not create a flap, many patients have less dryness afterward than they would with a flap-based procedure. Dry eye can still occur with any procedure, which is why we prepare for it in advance.
If SMILE is the right choice, you will have it done by the surgeon who planned it. If it isn’t, we will tell you so and show you the option that is.
Call 310-299-2056 to schedule a vision correction consultation with Dr. Benjamin.
You may put your vision in the best hands by asking the proper questions of a potential LASIK physician using this No-Regrets Guide. We've included our own responses to these inquiries to prevent you from having to conduct an interview. But if you need more explanation or have other worries, let us know! We are at your service.
The story of one unlighted Olympic star was worth the price of the Lasik operation.
Don't put off life until tomorrow, Schedule your consultation with Benjamin Eye Institute today. Make your first step to life without restrictions!
Are you considering LASIK but want to know more before taking the leap? At Benjamin Eye Institute, we combine over 30 years of expertise with state-of-the-art technology to help our patients achieve clearer vision and greater freedom from glasses and contact lenses.
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For patients with moderate to high myopia, a new standard of precision, safety, and reversibility is now available right here in West Hollywood.
Author: Arthur Benjamin, MD
If you've ever been told that LASIK, PRK, or other forms of laser vision correction aren't suitable for you, you're not alone. Many individuals with high prescriptions, thin corneas, or chronic dry eyes have faced the same setback. But, it doesn't mean the end of the road for achieving clear vision without glasses or contacts.
