About half of all Germans are affected by ametropia and wear glasses or contact lenses regularly or occasionally. What works well in everyday life with minor limitations often becomes a challenge in sport. Athletes in particular are increasingly dealing with the topic of eye lasers . In our article we want to give you a big overview:
- What procedures and methods are there?
- What qualifications do I need?
- What are the chances of success?
- How much does a treatment cost?
- How long do you have to stop training?
Smile Eyes, the experts in laser eye treatment, will provide you with the answers to all these questions.
What procedures are there?
In refractive surgery, the refractive power of the eye is changed by a minimal intervention in such a way that the patient regains optimal vision. The goal is to no longer be dependent on glasses or contact lenses. A distinction is made between surgical correction options in the area of the cornea and the lens.
A basic distinction is made between eye laser treatments , in which tissue is removed, and lens operations , in which an artificial lens is added or the body's own lens is replaced.
eye laser treatments
Smile Eyes offers its patients various procedures in the field of laser surgery, which are used individually depending on the result of the preliminary examination and the condition of the eye:
• The SMILE method
• Femto LASIK
• The LASEK procedure
lens surgeries
While corneal tissue is removed with laser eye surgery, the opposite approach is taken with lens procedures: a lens is added to the eye in a minimally invasive procedure in order to change the refractive behavior. This procedure also allows the correction of very large visual defects, since there are no restrictions with regard to the removal of tissue.
Laser eye surgery: the SMILE method
SMILE (small incision lenticule extraction) is the latest generation of eye laser treatment and therefore a highly innovative, safe and very gentle procedure. As the first (flap-less) minimally invasive laser eye procedure without pain, SMILE offers even more safety and stability for the eye - for laser eye surgery without fear.
In order to stress the corneal tissue as little as possible and at the same time ensure the precisely planned correction, two levels are created in the closed cornea with the femtosecond laser. The resulting corneal lens (lenticule) can then be removed through a small access. The advantage of this method is better predictability of the result and greater stability, since the tissue removal is carried out on an intact, closed cornea.
Already on the day after the operation, activities such as: showering / sports / physical exertion / make-up / swimming pool and sauna are allowed again.
Lens operations: methods and possibilities
Essentially, the following methods are distinguished:
-
Implantable Contact Lenses (ICL)
In phakic lens implantation, an additional artificial lens is implanted in the eye. -
Refractive lens exchange
Here the body's own clear lens is replaced by an artificial lens. -
Multifocal lenses
The implantation of an intelligent artificial lens makes life without reading glasses possible.
Which method is suitable for the patient and which advantages and disadvantages it entails is discussed in a personal conversation.
Who can be treated / what are the necessary requirements?
In principle, almost any ametropia can be corrected in a healthy eye using modern laser and lens operations. The procedure is often dependent on the thickness of the cornea, the size of the pupil and the depth of the anterior chamber. As part of an individual consultation, our eye experts will clarify with you which correction is suitable for the patient.
There are some criteria that rule out surgery completely or temporarily, or that require a special procedure. These include the following diagnoses: corneal diseases, eg keratoconus, eye diseases such as glaucoma or cataracts, pregnancy, lactation, unstable diopter values in short-sighted people, insufficient corneal thickness.
What are the chances of success?
The result that we achieve after the operation remains permanent if the eyes no longer change. It is therefore necessary that your ametropia has remained constant for a certain period of time before an operation. With our methods, we aim to enable you to live without glasses. However, if there is still residual ametropia after the first operation or if your eye changes again, a correction is possible. The probability of a subsequent correction is around 1%.
How much does a treatment at Smile Eyes cost?
The costs of our eye laser treatments or lens implantations depend on the method that is used for you. In addition, eye treatment using laser treatment or lens surgery is tax-deductible as an extraordinary burden. Private payers cover the costs of the procedure to varying degrees. Those with statutory health insurance currently have to bear all costs themselves.
Example of treatment costs in Munich:
- SMILE: €2,750 per eye
- Femto LASIK: €2,490 per eye
- LASEK: €1,990 per eye
- ICL: €3,490 per eye
- Multifocal lenses: €3,490 per eye
You can get more information about the costs and possible financing from our specialist staff or on this page . Prices at other locations may vary.
How long does the treatment last and how long do I have to stop training?
You have to schedule 90 minutes for the preliminary examination. On the day of the operation, you are on site at the clinic for about 2 hours. The procedure itself takes less than 15 minutes per eye.
It is essential that you refrain from wearing your contact lenses before the treatment: at least ten days for soft lenses and at least three weeks for hard lenses. On the day of the procedure, please do not use eye make-up or eye cream. The operation, including the follow-up examination, takes about an hour. You are not allowed to drive a car afterwards, so please bring someone with you.
Depending on the treatment method used, general activities and sports training are then possible again as follows:
laser interventions
- SMILE method: Already on the day after the operation, activities such as: showering/sports/physical exertion/make-up/swimming pool and sauna are allowed again.
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Femto-LASIK / LASEK method: after the operation, showering and washing hair are allowed again, after a week: make-up / sports / physical exertion / swimming pool and sauna
lens surgery
Showering and washing hair are allowed again on the day after the operation, after a week: make-up / sports / physical exertion / swimming pool and sauna.
In both cases, you should avoid rubbing your eyes for the first week.
Patients with sufficient vision can drive a car again, often the day after the operation .
Smile Eyes: 13x in Germany & 1x in Austria
