SMILE PRO surgery in Korea avoids a corneal flap, but it is still surgery: dryness, glare and blurry days are common and usually fade, rare problems exist, and after 40 near vision needs its own conversation.
Two different "smile surgeries" show up in Korean search results
How does SMILE change the cornea?
The first week is mostly about blur, grit and light
Months one to six: dryness and night glare are the slow part
Why does reading feel different after 40?
What decides the cost of SMILE PRO surgery in Korea?
What are the less common complications of SMILE?
Who looks after your eyes once you fly home?
What to send before you decide anything
Worried about what can go wrong after SMILE PRO surgery Korea patients travel for? It helps to read this before you book or decide anything.
By the end you will know what is common in the first week, what lingers for months, which complications are uncommon, and what changes at reading distance after 40, so you can decide whether to go ahead.
I'm Dr. Baek Dong-won, Representative Director at EYEONCE. SMILE PRO is done through a keyhole incision of 2–4 mm with no corneal flap, and I wrote this because many people assume that means nothing can go wrong. The short answer: no flap removes one category of problems, but dryness, glare and a few blurry days are common, uncommon complications still exist, and the reading question after 40 needs an answer before surgery, not after.
If you typed "smile surgery Korea" and got lip-lift photos, you found a different specialty. Smile lifts and mouth-corner procedures belong to plastic surgery. SMILE in ophthalmology stands for small incision lenticule extraction, a way of correcting nearsightedness and astigmatism inside the cornea.
Eyeonce is an eye clinic. On our menu, SMILE PRO and SMILE LASIK sit alongside LASIK / LASEK, ICL (EVO Aqua), cataract surgery and presbyopia correction. Everything below is about eyes.
A femtosecond laser shapes a thin, lens-shaped piece of tissue (a lenticule) inside the cornea, and the surgeon removes it through a small incision at the edge. According to a review in Eye and Vision by Reinstein and colleagues, this avoids lifting a flap the way LASIK does, and the front layers of the cornea are left largely in place.
No flap means no flap that can shift after a knock to the eye. A small incision also cuts fewer corneal nerves, and early studies summarized in the same review suggested this may mean less dry eye than LASIK. The lenticule still has to come out cleanly, and the tissue it takes does not grow back: the thinner the corneal bed left behind, the fewer options remain for a later enhancement.
SMILE PRO and SMILE LASIK both appear on our menu. For how SMILE compares with the other methods, our overview of what makes SMILE LASIK different goes through it.
Most of what people feel in the first days is expected and usually temporary: some discomfort, blurry or hazy vision, and sensitivity to light.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration describes this general pattern after laser vision correction, along with the instruction not to rub the eyes. The FDA also notes that the first follow-up check usually happens within 24 to 48 hours.
Three things to plan around as a traveler:
The day-by-day rhythm of going back to screens, showers and work is covered in the SMILE LASIK recovery guide, so this page stays with what can go wrong.
Dry eye is the side effect most likely to outlast the first week. It is usually temporary, but it can last months, and people who already had dry eyes before surgery tend to notice it more. Glare and halos around lights at night are the other common complaint; they often lessen as the cornea settles, though not in every eye.
What decides your dry-eye risk is measured, not guessed. The doctor looks at how quickly the tear film breaks up after a blink, at the oil glands along the eyelid margin, and at staining on the corneal surface. A tear film that breaks up within a few seconds is a common reason to treat the surface first and measure again, because dry eye also distorts the corneal readings the surgery plan depends on.
For people in their 40s and 50s this matters more, because tear quality tends to drop with age and with years of contact lenses. If your eyes burn by mid-afternoon now, I want to know that before we talk about any laser.
SMILE corrects the shape of the cornea; it does not change the aging lens behind it. Presbyopia, the gradual loss of close-up focus, keeps progressing after any laser vision correction.
Many nearsighted people in their mid-40s read by taking their glasses off. Once distance vision is corrected, that trick disappears, and reading glasses can become necessary sooner than expected. It is a trade-off rather than a complication, and it is easier to accept when it has been discussed before surgery.
Some people discuss setting one eye slightly nearer than the other. That approach has its own trade-offs for depth and night driving, and it needs testing before surgery. Others in their late 40s and 50s are better served by a lens-based option, especially if the lens is already starting to cloud. Which group you fall into is decided by measurements and by how you use your eyes, which is why how the numbers decide your procedure is worth reading next.
Say you are 44, nearsighted, and you currently read your phone by simply taking your glasses off. If both eyes are corrected fully for distance, that close-up habit changes, and you may need reading glasses for small print. So before surgery I would ask how much of your day is spent at near distance versus far, and whether you would rather keep one eye slightly nearsighted or accept reading glasses. That conversation comes first, and it is the kind of question your exam results make easier to answer.
The cost depends on your eyes and your plan, not on one fixed item. Your prescription and exam results decide whether SMILE PRO suits you at all, and whether both eyes are treated the same way. The number of days you can stay in Korea affects how many follow-up checks fit around the procedure. If the exam finds something that needs treatment first, such as dry eye, that changes the plan too. To get the figure for your case, send your latest prescription or eye exam report as a photo on WhatsApp and ask for it there.
Serious problems are uncommon, but they are real, and you should hear them before surgery rather than after.
| Timing | What can happen | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| During surgery | Suction loss, or a lenticule that is difficult to separate | The step may be paused or the plan changed; the review by Reinstein and colleagues describes these as known intraoperative events |
| First weeks | Inflammation at the interface, infection, small tears at the incision edge | Needs prompt review and drops; this is why early checks matter |
| Months | Under- or overcorrection, regression of the prescription | Further correction may be considered once the eye is stable; options after SMILE differ from LASIK |
| Years | Corneal weakening (ectasia), very rare | Screening corneal shape and thickness before surgery is the main defense |
Who should not have SMILE, or should wait: people whose prescription is still changing, eyes with signs of an irregular or thinning cornea, active eye surface disease that has not been treated, and pregnancy or breastfeeding, when prescriptions and tear quality shift. Even then, individual variation is real, and the in-person exam decides whether surgery is suitable at all.
At Eyeonce, one doctor handles the diagnosis, the surgery and the follow-up, so the person reviewing a problem months later is the person who planned the operation.
The clinic offers Lifetime Aftercare: re-examination whenever you need it, and support for retreatment if it becomes necessary. The exact conditions are confirmed at consultation, and aftercare is a commitment to follow-up, not a promise about results.
Distance still matters. Keep copies of your pre-surgery measurements and the surgery record, and know where your nearest ophthalmologist is at home. Increasing pain, a sudden drop in vision, or redness with discharge in the first weeks need an in-person exam the same day, wherever you are. For a broader look at planning eye surgery from abroad, start with our South Korea eye surgery guide.
People over 40 often tell me the surgery itself does not scare them; what scares them is being 10 hours away when something feels wrong. That worry is reasonable. My answer is not a promise that nothing will happen. It is that your records, your measurements and your doctor stay the same, and that you can come back.
If you have a recent eye exam, a glasses prescription or corneal topography from home, send a photo on WhatsApp with your age and whether reading up close is already a struggle.
The easiest way to start is to send one photo of your latest eye exam or glasses prescription on WhatsApp, and mention your age and whether you wear contact lenses. Then ask one question: "Based on this, is SMILE PRO a reasonable option for my eyes, and what would the in-person exam need to check?" There is a consultation, you do not have to book anything to ask, and English-speaking staff are available.
Results and suitability vary by individual. Your procedure recommendation is confirmed only through an in-person diagnostic exam.
Representative Director · Former Clinical Instructor, Dept. of Ophthalmology, Samsung Seoul Hospital · Member, Korean Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery · Member, American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery
International patients share what actually happened — from their first fears to waking up the next morning without glasses.
Our patients share their stories on Google — verified, public and unfiltered. Open the map to read every review straight from the source.
Tell us your prescription and travel dates. Our English-speaking team will design your personalized plan — free of charge, no pressure.
An English-speaking eye clinic in the heart of Gangnam, Seoul — moments from Sinnonhyeon Station and easily reached from Incheon International Airport.
5–6F, Duo Sinnonhyeon, 368 Sapyeong-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea
+82-10-6308-0984 — English, Chinese, Mongolian & Thai
Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri 09:00–18:00 · Sat 09:00–16:00 · Lunch break 13:00–14:00 · Closed Wed & Sun
By appointment only · Registration may close early depending on the day’s schedule.
Sinnonhyeon Station (Line 9 / Sinbundang Line) — 3 min walk. Gangnam Station (Line 2) nearby.