Corneal Nerve and Keratocyte Response to SMILE® Surgery

Any kind of laser corneal refractive surgeryLaser corneal refractive surgery has an impact on the ocular surface and corneal innervationCorneal innervation and, therefore, on the postoperative symptoms and quality of life of patients. Minimizing the aforementioned rare, but possible, side effects, represents one of the main goals of modern laser surgery. It is claimed that small incision lenticule extractionSmall incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) (SMILE) induces less dry eyeDry eye and wound healing phenomena as compared with laser-assisted in situ keratomileusisLaser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) (LASIK) and other excimer laserExcimer laser-based techniques. In this chapter, the fundamentals and updates on corneal neural and keratocytes response to femtosecond lenticule extractionFemtosecond lenticule extraction (FLEx) surgery are presented.