Dr. Drew Dickson performs SMILE eye surgery at Modern Vision Centers in West Des Moines, Iowa, where he holds certification through the World College of Refractive Surgery and Visual Sciences. In a recent WHO13 “Hello, Iowa!” interview, he explained who tends to benefit most from the procedure, and one answer stood out: patients whose daily routines make glasses and contacts more of a burden than they’re worth.
Is SMILE a good option for people with busy, active lifestyles?
Yes, according to Dr. Dickson. Many of his SMILE patients choose the procedure specifically because their routines make daily vision correction with glasses or contacts inconvenient. “A lot of people inherently who are interested in vision correction have a more active lifestyle and just don’t like the hassle of glasses and contacts,” he said.
He pointed to athletes and new parents who don’t want to reach for glasses in the middle of the night. Frequent travelers make up another common group, since packing contact solution and cases adds one more thing to remember on the road. Patients who deal with irritation or dryness from contact lenses often land in this same category, since SMILE is designed to disturb fewer corneal nerves than LASIK.
Why does SMILE sound like a dental procedure, and what does the name actually mean?
SMILE has no connection to teeth. Dr. Dickson said the mix-up comes up often simply because of how the word sounds. “It has nothing to do with your teeth. Yes, it sounds like a dental procedure, but it is not, so that’s a common misconception,” he said. SMILE stands for Small Incision Lenticule Extraction.
Dr. Dickson describes it as a more modern take on LASIK: both procedures reshape the surface of the eye to correct a patient’s prescription, but SMILE removes tissue through a small opening in the cornea rather than through a larger flap. Modern Vision Centers’ SMILE page covers the anatomy of that difference in more detail for patients who want to compare the two procedures.
Why don’t more eye centers offer SMILE surgery?
Equipment and training are the main barriers, according to Dr. Dickson. The ZEISS VisuMax femtosecond laser is the only laser cleared to perform SMILE, and few surgeons hold the additional certification needed to use it. “You have to have the special equipment and expertise to do SMILE,” he said. Modern Vision Centers is the only location in the Des Moines area currently offering the procedure.
What kind of specialized training does a surgeon need to perform SMILE?
Performing SMILE takes training beyond a standard ophthalmology residency. Dr. Dickson said the technique differs enough from LASIK that surgeons need dedicated, hands-on experience with it before they can expect strong outcomes. “I’ve spent a couple extra years training on how to do this technique too, because it is a little different and you just need to have that sort of experience to be able to provide good results,” he said.
For patients weighing SMILE against other vision correction options, the next step is a consultation where Dr. Dickson’s team can review prescription history, corneal health, and daily lifestyle side by side. Call Modern Vision Centers at 515-674-2020 or visit mvcvision.com to schedule an evaluation in West Des Moines, Iowa.
Full transcript:
Host: You have more than one option when it comes to correcting your eyesight. I went to Modern Vision Centers to learn more about a procedure that doesn’t sound like it’s for your eyes. Okay, tell us about SMILE vision correction.
Drew Dickson, MD: It has nothing to do with your teeth. Yes, it sounds like a dental procedure, but it is not, so that’s a common misconception. SMILE stands for Small Incision Lenticule Extraction, which is a mouthful, which is why we just call it SMILE.
But you can think of it as being like a more modern, more updated form of LASIK. Like LASIK, it’s basically reshaping the surface of your eye to fix the prescription, but it’s kind of like doing laparoscopic LASIK. And so instead of us having to make a big flap when we do LASIK, we’re able to remove that prescription and fix that prescription through a very tiny slit in the cornea.
And so it’s often patients getting back to regular activities quicker, less dry eye, and we’re the only providers in the state of Iowa to actually offer SMILE. Even though it’s been FDA approved now since 2017, we’re the first in Iowa to bring it to this market.
Host: So it is different than LASIK, right?
Dr. Dickson: Both procedures are trying to reshape the surface of the eye. And LASIK’s a great procedure too, but for some patients, particularly if they’re coming in with more advanced dryness or have those types of concerns, it has been shown to be better for some of that than LASIK. And so certain patients are just better candidates for SMILE than LASIK.
And a lot of places just aren’t able to offer that because you have to have the special equipment and expertise to do SMILE, but we’re the only center in the state that actually will offer that.
Host: Who is suitable for this?
Dr. Dickson: So typically when we’re thinking about good SMILE candidates, we first and foremost want to make sure that your prescription’s been stable over time. And so kind of going back to prior years prescription, just making sure that that hasn’t changed.
Usually we’re thinking of adults, usually under the age of 50 or so, that are good candidates. And so SMILE in the United States is indicated for people who are nearsighted. And so that just means if you wake up and don’t have glasses or contacts in, you can see well up close, but not far away.
So that’s that type of patient. Then also patients who have astigmatism, and so a lot of people will notice that causing like glare and halos around lights and things, that’s usually caused by astigmatism. So nearsighted and astigmatism patients are great candidates for this.
Host: Does your lifestyle matter for this?
Dr. Dickson: Yeah, and so a lot of people inherently who are interested in vision correction have a more active lifestyle and just don’t like the hassle of glasses and contacts. So we get a lot of athletes coming in, we get a lot of people who even like new parents and getting up in the middle of the night, don’t want to have to be reaching for their glasses or contacts, people who travel a lot. And so, you know, some of those patients can just be really bothered by meeting their glasses on them all the time or getting problems with contact lenses, causing dryness or irritation.
Those are usually the best candidates for something like this.
Host: And this is actually where it takes place.
Dr. Dickson: Yeah, right here, right where you’re sitting.
So this is the laser, it’s called the Zeiss Vizimax laser, it is the only laser that can do smile. And so, like I said, you have to have the right equipment for it and the right expertise for it. So I’ve spent a couple extra years training on how to do this technique too, because it is a little different and you just need to have that sort of experience to be able to provide good results.
And so, yeah, this is right where we do it. It takes about five minutes per eye to do it. So 10 minutes can start to finish and patients are seeing better very quickly afterwards.
Host: So you see a difference right away?
Dr. Dickson: Yes. And so most patients, even from just sitting them up, are seeing better already and can usually read the clock across the room. Usually, most patients within a week are seeing around 20, 20 or better.
Usually by the next day, already legal to drive, resuming normal activities. There’s no activity restrictions at all, so you can go back to work, go back to all your normal activities right away with this. So it’s a really great option for a lot of patients.
Host: So it’s very unique here. Why else should someone choose Modern Vision Center?
Dr. Dickson: We are the only center here providing SMILE, but we also do a lot of other surgeries too. So we have seven different surgeries that we can offer to patients.
Really for us, our singular focus is on providing vision correction. And so for a lot of patients, that might be SMILE, that might be LASIK, that might be something else, but we are equipped to be able to detect that. We run everyone through very thorough testing to determine which procedure is best and are able to really customize the approach to patients to provide them the best outcomes possible.And for more information, you can go online to MVCvision.com or call 515-674-2020. You’ll find them located in West Des Moines and you can see more on their social media pages.