Korea SMILE LASIK Procedure Steps in Order: How Many Days Do You Need? Cost, Reviews and Recovery

Step 1, before you fly: how long do contacts need to come out?

Contact lenses press on the cornea and change its shape slightly. Measure a cornea that's still reshaped and the plan is built on the wrong numbers. So the break starts at home, before the flight:

The same rule applies to the exam and to surgery, so you'll travel in glasses. Arrive rested, and skip alcohol before surgery.

If you take aspirin or another blood thinner, or heart medication, the doctor needs to know at the consultation, where it's decided whether to stop it about a week before surgery. A one-week pause would start before you land, so raise it early, and never stop a prescribed medicine without the doctor who prescribed it at home.

• Soft lenses: at least 5 days
• Rigid (hard) or toric lenses: at least 2 weeks
• Orthokeratology (Ortho-K) lenses: at least 1 month

Step 2: the exam that decides whether SMILE fits

In short, this is the step people underestimate. A SMILE plan rests on measurements: corneal thickness, how much tissue can be safely removed, the health of the corneal endothelial cells, the anatomy of your eye, astigmatism and the overall condition of the eye. How you use your eyes at work and at home goes into the recommendation as well.

SMILE shapes a thin disc of tissue, the lenticule, inside the cornea with a femtosecond laser, and that disc is removed through a small incision without creating a flap (Reinstein and colleagues, Eye and Vision). Because tissue comes out, the cornea needs enough left behind afterward. That margin matters more to me than the prescription number.

Many eye exams include dilating drops, which usually blur near vision for several hours. Keep the rest of exam day free of anything that needs sharp close-up sight.

Whether SMILE is right for you is decided after the comprehensive exam, never before it. If the numbers say SMILE isn't the right trade for your cornea, LASEK or an ICL implant may be the better plan, and I would rather say that in Seoul than proceed with the wrong procedure. If you want to understand those alternatives before you come, read [how SMILE, LASIK and LASEK compare in Korea](/blog/smile-vs-lasik-vs-lasek-korea).

Dr. Hyun Chul Cheon

Step 3: surgery day, from getting dressed to the ride back

No makeup that morning (basic toner or lotion is fine), and no perfume, hairspray or other sprays, because they can interfere with the laser. Wear clothes you can lie down in comfortably; hoodies, short skirts and boots get in the way.

In the room, numbing eye drops are standard for corneal laser surgery, and a small device called a lid speculum holds your eyelids open, so blinking isn't something you have to manage. Your eye will drift a little, as everyone's does. The VisuMax fixation system monitors and compensates for that movement in real time. In extremely rare cases where fixation is lost, the surgeon decides whether to continue or convert to another method such as LASEK.

The laser part is short: about 23 to 30 seconds per eye for SMILE, and about 10 seconds per eye for SMILE Pro on the VisuMax 800. The appointment around it takes longer, so ask at booking how much of the day to set aside.

Afterward your vision will be slightly blurry for the rest of the day. Don't drive. Take public transport or a taxi back, and bring a companion if you can.

What does recovery look like in the first week after SMILE?

For most people, vision is clear from the next morning. Glare, halos around lights at night and dry eye can show up as the cornea heals, and these usually improve within one to two weeks. Vision generally settles during that period, with the final result reached within one to three months.

Dryness is the one to plan for on a trip. Hotel air conditioning, long screen days and a long-haul cabin all dry the eyes. Artificial tears or prescribed drops are how it's managed, so keep them in your hand luggage, use them on the schedule you're given, and don't rub your eyes.

The check-up after SMILE is typically within one to two weeks of surgery. After that, further visits are optional unless your vision changes or something feels uncomfortable.

What do SMILE reviews get right and wrong?

Forum threads and video reviews tend to repeat three claims.

“The laser takes seconds.” True for the laser itself. The visit around it takes longer, and the exam before it takes longer still, which is why the exam day belongs in your plan as a full day.

“I could see perfectly the next day.” Many people do see clearly the next morning. The same reviews rarely mention that glare and dryness can linger for a couple of weeks and that vision keeps settling for up to three months. Treat your first week as a recovery week.

“SMILE means no dry eye.” Dry eye is one of the temporary side effects after SMILE, and in most cases it fades within a few weeks with drops. A review describes one pair of eyes; your corneal measurements describe yours.

How many days in Seoul should you plan?

Put together, the Korea SMILE LASIK procedure steps in order look like this on a calendar. Our hours shape it: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM, Saturday 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, lunch 1:00 to 2:00 PM, and closed on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Say you're 46, you wear soft lenses, you're around -4.50 with some astigmatism, and you have ten days off. Your lenses come out five days before the exam, so you fly in glasses. You land on a Monday evening and have the exam on Tuesday. Wednesday the clinic is closed, which suits tired eyes after a long exam anyway. If the exam says SMILE fits, ask whether surgery can be on Thursday. By Friday morning most people see more clearly. The check-up falls within one to two weeks, so the question to ask when you book is whether yours can be scheduled before your flight home.

At 46 there's a second conversation. Correcting distance vision doesn't stop presbyopia, the age-related loss of near focus, and if small print is already getting harder, I'd want to talk about reading before choosing anything. Sometimes that leads toward presbyopia lens surgery options instead of laser. If the exam finds an early cataract, how cataract lens choice and cost are set becomes the more relevant reading.

When to fly home is a question for the doctor who examined you, and the best time to ask it is after your check-up. I'd rather you add two days to the trip than board the plane with a question about your eyes still unasked.

Dr. Hyun Chul Cheon

Risks, and what to do if something feels off at home

Risks and side effects to know

The common reactions after SMILE are temporary: glare, halos at night and dry eye, usually easing within a few weeks with artificial tears or prescribed drops. Less often, visual recovery is slower or a small residual prescription remains. If needed, an enhancement can be considered depending on how much corneal tissue is left, with options such as LASEK or an ICL. Serious complications such as corneal inflammation or opacity are extremely rare and are usually treatable with medication when caught early. Recovery speed and the final result vary with your eyes and your starting prescription.

As general medicine, some people should wait or skip corneal laser surgery: anyone whose prescription is still changing, a cornea that's thin or irregular for the correction needed (an early sign of keratoconus is a reason to stop), pregnancy or breastfeeding, and conditions or medications that slow healing. The U.S. FDA page When is LASIK not for me? lists several of these for LASIK.

If something changes after you're home, such as vision dropping, pain, or redness that grows instead of fading, see an eye doctor there promptly and message us the details as well. The CDC's medical tourism guidance advises planning follow-up care at home before you travel and taking copies of your medical records with you, so ask for your exam and surgery records before you leave Seoul.

Eye health is also more than the cornea. The retina and optic nerve affect vision too, so I recommend a full eye exam every year, whether or not you've had surgery.

If a doctor at home has ever mentioned thin corneas or an irregular corneal map, send a photo of that report on WhatsApp and ask what your options would be if SMILE turns out not to fit.

Send your lens type and travel dates on WhatsApp

What decides the cost of SMILE for your eyes?

We give quotes on request instead of publishing a price list, because the figure follows the exam. These are the factors that move it:

For how similar factors work with flap-based surgery, see what moves a LASIK quote in Korea. To get the figure for your own eyes, ask on WhatsApp what it would cost for your case, with a photo of your glasses prescription.

• The procedure the exam points to. SMILE, SMILE Pro on the VisuMax 800, LASEK and an ICL implant are different procedures.
• The SMILE option. We offer SMILE in several tiers, such as Core, Prime, Signature and Bright SMILE Pro, which differ in what's added: corneal strengthening, moisture replenishment or a platelet-rich treatment. The doctor recommends one after your exam.
• Corneal strengthening (CXL). It's commonly recommended for thin corneas or when more tissue has to be removed.
• Your days in Seoul. Nights until the check-up belong in your trip budget, even though they aren't on the clinic bill.

Before you book anything

You can ask before booking flights or dates, and one message is enough to start: the month you have in mind and the question you most want answered, whether that's the length of your lens break, the timing of your check-up or what happens if SMILE doesn't suit you. Send it on WhatsApp. When you come, your eyes are examined in full and the doctor recommends the procedure that fits what the exam finds.

Results vary by individual, and your exam decides which procedure is proposed.

Sources

• Small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) history, fundamentals of a new refractive surgery technique and clinical out
• When is LASIK not for me?
• Medical Tourism