How to choose myopia surgery?

  Many myopic patients have an urgent need to remove their glasses. Driven by the need for military conscription, civil service applications, medical examinations for higher education, cosmetic and other needs for lens removal, more and more patients are coming to hospitals for myopic laser surgery. Before the surgery, patients have to make various preparations, especially to choose the most suitable surgery for them.  Current laser myopia surgery involves laser cutting of the cornea, which results in a change in the shape of the cornea to correct myopia. Depending on where the laser cuts the cornea, it can be divided into two categories: superficial cutting, PRK, LASEK and Epi-LASIK surgery, and deep cutting, LASIK, SBK and femtosecond LASIK. After more than two decades of development, excimer laser treatment for myopia is already a mature and reliable technology, but we should also understand it rationally and choose the most suitable surgical procedure by combining our own characteristics and needs. Optimized superficial cutting surgery, which takes into account the effectiveness of vision restoration and long-term safety, should be the first choice for patients with low to moderate myopia surgery.  Deep cutting of corneal refractive surgery has entered the “femtosecond era”, and more and more laser refractive surgery is being done with the femtosecond laser. Femtosecond lasers are used to create corneal flaps for excimer laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK), which is often referred to as “half-femtosecond surgery” and “full-femtosecond surgery”, which is known as femtosecond laser stromal lenticule excision (ReLEx). ReLEx is also divided into Femtosecond Laser Lens Excision (FLEx) and Small Incision Lens Excision (SMILE), depending on whether the anterior stromal layer of the cornea is lifted.  At present, the SMILE procedure is more commonly used in clinical practice and is especially suitable for sports enthusiasts and special occupational groups such as the military and police. So, what kind of prescription is suitable for “full femtosecond surgery”? For conventional myopia correction, mainly for medium to high degree (generally in the range of 300 to 1000 degrees), excluding contraindications to laser surgery are suitable for this surgery.  Finally, how should I choose myopia surgery for patients with ultra-high myopia? In foreign countries, refractive lens implantation is usually chosen for patients with myopia of 1000 degrees or more. First, the surgeon will perform a thorough examination of the patient’s eyes before surgery to confirm suitability for this procedure and customize the lenses according to each individual’s eye parameters (e.g., size, prescription, etc.).