Short sightedness, long sightedness and astigmatism, these focusing errors need not hold you back from doing what you want to in life. Playing sport or swimming with glasses can be a challenge. Working outside can be difficult if you wear contact lenses.
Twenty seven years ago, eye surgeon Dr David Kent and optometrist Jane Patterson introduced laser eye surgery to the South Island, establishing Fendalton Eye Clinic in Christchurch in 1996.
Fendalton Eye Clinic continue to invest in the latest equipment, installing a new Visumax800 femtosecond laser in October 2023 allowing Dr Kent to deliver the most advanced laser corrective procedures available in the world. The Visumax800 femtosecond laser allows Dr Kent to add SMILEpro treatments to the range of vision correction options.
SMILEpro stands for Small Incision Lenticule Extraction, the suffix “pro” denotes that the SMILE procedure is being delivered using the state of the art Visumax800 laser which represents the latest advance in laser eye surgery treatments the term “SMILEpro” can only be used if the the procedure is performed using the very lastest Visumax800 laser. SMILEpro a painless minimally invasive laser procedure where the Visumax800 laser creates a lenticule inside the intact cornea. The lenticule is then removed from the edge of the cornea.
“SMILEpro provides the most benefit to patients who are moderately shortsighted and who may be involved in contact sports. LASIK is still the most precise treatment for lower shortsighted corrections, for treating significant astigmatism and for correcting long sightedness,” says Dr Kent. Dr Kent has performed more LASIK procedures than any other eye surgeon in New Zealand. The LASIK procedure is performed with the combination of the Visumax800 laser and the Schwind Amaris 1050RS excimer laser, the Schwind Amaris 1050RS is the only excimer laser on the market to provide the accuracy of eye tracking in seven dimensions. The clinic has its own purpose-built laser eye surgery facility. Dr Kent has performed more than 30,000 laser eye surgeries. Recognised internationally by his colleagues, Dr Kent is currently the New Zealand representative for the Australasian Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.
Laser eye surgery may be an option for you if you are over 20 years of age, are long sighted, short sighted or have astigmatism. The best way to find out if laser eye surgery is an option for you is to have one of our free laser screening assessments with the member of the technical team. “The overwhelming reward for the entire team, in carrying out laser eye treatments, is seeing the transformation in people’s lives,” says Jane. “For many people laser eye surgery is quite literally life-changing.” The thing we most often hear from patients is “I wish I had done it sooner”.
