A New Successful Approach for Emmetropic Presbyopic Patients Using Intrastromal Pocket With Smile Module

This study started at 2016 was performed in Eye Hospital Pristina in 82 eyes of 41 patients aged (40-50) with the emmetropic presbyopic complaint.VisuMax femtosecond laser created the stromal pocket with a diameter 7.60 mm and cap thickness set to 120 μm from corneal surface and with a small opening - 2 mm superior incision at 90° and side cut angle 50°. The pocket was dissected using a blunt spatula.

The patients were followed up for one year with distance, intermediate, and near visual acuity, slit lamp, corneal topography, anterior segment optical coherence tomography. Uncorrected near visual acuity at 35 cm increased from J7 to J2 in 8 eyes operated on, from J8 to J2 in 7 eyes, and from J6 to J2 in 6 eyes. Uncorrected intermediate visual acuity ranged from J4 to J5 at 70 cm, and uncorrected distance visual acuity remained binocular at 20/20. The patients reported satisfaction while reading a book, looking at the phone, and using a computer. No discomfort was observed from the lights while driving at night. We are shaping the surface of the cornea via an introstrımal pocket. We are using the SMILE module without removing the lenticule, and we are just separating the center of the cap from the top of lenticule In the short term, we have observed increases in spherical aberrations of patients. We also think that corneal shaping has an effect on the presbyopic correction. We will see and analyze the long-term effects by observing them.