Intraoperative complications of refractive small incision lenticule extraction in the early learning curve

Abstract

Purpose: To study the intraoperative complications of refractive small incision lenticule extraction (ReSMILE push-up technique), and to record the mean intraoperative duration time of all surgeries for the refractive surgeon in his early learning curve. Setting: Ebsar Eye Center, Benha, Egypt. Design: A prospective, single-center, cohort clinical study. Methods: This prospective, single-center, cohort clinical study was done on patients with myopia and myopic astigmatism, who were enrolled for SMILE surgeries. All the SMILE operations were performed by a single refractive surgeon (AMH), by using only the ReSMILE push-up technique. Results: A total of 190 eyes were operated upon, using the (ReSMILE push-up technique), with a mean follow-up period of 2 months. The intraoperative complications have been recorded for all patients. The mean operative duration of all cases was 4.45±1.45 minutes. Conclusion: The ReSMILE: push-up technique seems to facilitate visualization of the edge of the lenticule of the SMILE surgery, especially for the refractive surgeon in his early learning curve.