SMILE pro, LASIK and PRK all do the same job — reshaping your cornea with a laser so light focuses properly and you can see clearly without glasses or contacts. The fourth option, an ICL, involves a different route to the same goal: instead of reshaping the cornea, a custom made lens is placed inside the eye. ICL stands for Implantable Collamer Lens (named for the soft Collamer material it’s made from) though you’ll often hear it called an “implantable contact lens”, which is a fair picture of what it does. Between the four of these procedures, almost every prescription has an answer. SMILE pro is the most recent technique, LASIK treats the widest range of prescriptions, PRK is the safest choice for thin corneas, and ICL picks up where laser leaves off, correcting very high prescriptions and eyes that aren’t suited to laser at all. The right one depends entirely on your eyes.
At Fendalton Eye Clinic, Dr David Kent and Dr Zea Munro offer all four — the widest range of vision correction options, to ensure the procedure we recommend is based purely on what will give your eyes the best result. Our three laser procedures — SMILE pro, LASIK and PRK all share the same all inclusive fee of $3,750 per eye. Please Note: ICL, with its individually manufactured lens, is quoted separately at your assessment. The table below details how each procedure compares.
The four procedures at a glance
| SMILE pro | LASIK | PRK (Advanced Surface Treatment) | ICL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How it works | A femtosecond laser (Zeiss VisuMax 800) creates a thin disc of tissue inside the cornea, removed through a tiny ~3 mm keyhole incision. No flap. | A femtosecond laser creates a thin corneal flap; an excimer laser (Amaris 1050RS) then reshapes the cornea beneath, and the flap is repositioned. | The surface layer (epithelium) is gently removed and the excimer laser reshapes the cornea directly; the surface regrows naturally. | A soft, clear, custom-made lens is placed inside the eye behind the iris and in front of the natural lens. No corneal tissue is removed. |
| Best suited to | Short-sightedness (myopia) and moderate astigmatism; active lifestyles and contact-sport players. | The widest range of focusing errors; short-sightedness, long-sightedness and astigmatism. | Thin or irregularly shaped corneas, higher eye-injury-risk lifestyles, and re-treatments. | Very high short-sightedness, long-sightedness or astigmatism, and corneas too thin or irregular for laser. |
| Treatment time | About 10 seconds with the VisuMax laser per eye. | About 10 seconds with the VisuMax laser, plus additional time with the excimer laser. | Seconds of laser per eye. | Approximately 30 minutes per eye. |
| Visual recovery | Most patients see well enough to legally drive the next day. Vision may be foggy for the first few days. Most return to work within 48 hours and resume sport in 3-5 days. | Most patients see well enough to legally drive the next day. Return to work in 24-48 hours and resume most sport in 5 days. | Slower. Clear vision typically takes 7-10 days. Plan up to a week off work. | Fast. Vision often improves within days as the eye settles. |
| Comfort | Numbing eyedrops during surgery. Minimal discomfort afterwards with occasional grittiness. | Numbing eyedrops during surgery. Minimal discomfort; some grittiness for a few hours. | Can be uncomfortable for 2-3 days; managed with a therapeutic contact lens, eyedrops and pain relief. | Performed under light sedation with numbing eyedrops; little or no discomfort afterwards. |
| Where performed | Fendalton Eye Clinic, Christchurch. | Fendalton Eye Clinic, Christchurch. | Fendalton Eye Clinic, Christchurch. | Christchurch Eye Surgery, Christchurch. |
| Key considerations | Not suitable for every prescription; the smallest incision. | Flap-related precautions during early healing. | Longer recovery period. | Surgery inside the eye, with rare risks such as raised pressure or cataract; fully removable. |
SMILE pro: the latest advancement
SMILE pro (Small Incision Lenticule Extraction) is the most recent technique in laser eye surgery, performed with the Zeiss VisuMax 800 laser. For SMILE pro, the VisuMax laser is programmed to separate the tissue inside the cornea by delivering laser pulses at a pre-determined depth, then the laser is programmed for a second pass at a different depth (all of this is done within ~10 seconds), creating an ultra-thin disc of tissue inside the cornea, precisely the amount that needs to be removed to correct your focusing error. The surgeon then removes the disc of tissue through a tiny ~3 mm keyhole incision.
Because there’s no flap, SMILE pro is popular with people who play contact sport or lead very active lives. The majority of patients see well enough to meet the legal driving standard the next day, most people are back at work within 48 hours and back to sport within three to five days.
SMILE pro corrects short-sightedness and moderate astigmatism — so it isn’t the answer for every prescription. That’s where LASIK and PRK come in.
LASIK: the proven all-rounder
LASIK has been the world’s most widely performed laser eye procedure for decades. Fendalton Eye Clinic performed its first corrective laser procedures in 1996, and Dr David Kent has performed more LASIK procedures than any other New Zealand eye surgeon. A femtosecond laser creates a thin flap on the front of the cornea; the flap is lifted, an excimer laser reshapes the tissue beneath, and the flap is repositioned, conforming to the new shape.
LASIK’s great strength is versatility: it treats the broadest range of focusing errors, short-sightedness, long-sightedness and astigmatism. At Fendalton Eye Clinic, LASIK is performed with the Schwind Amaris 1050RS. Fendalton Eye Clinic is the only clinic in the South Island with this exceptional laser, with its seven-dimensional active eye tracker following every tiny movement of your eye, even compensating for movements between tracking and laser pulse.
PRK: the original, still the right choice for some eyes
PRK, which stands for Photo-Refractive Keratectomy (also called Advanced Surface Treatment) is the original laser eye surgery technique — Dr Kent was the first surgeon to perform PRK in the South Island, back in 1997. The surface layer of the cornea is gently removed, the excimer laser reshapes the cornea directly, and the surface regrows naturally over the following days.
Because no flap is created and more corneal tissue is left untouched, PRK is the procedure of choice when the cornea is thin or unevenly shaped, and for people whose work or lifestyle carries a high risk of eye injury. It’s also usually the best option for fine tuning vision years after previous laser surgery. The trade off is recovery: expect two to three days of discomfort — managed with a protective contact lens and anti-inflammatory drops, oral pain relief tablets, ice pack — and seven to ten days before your vision is clear enough for work.
ICL: the implantable lens that picks up where laser leaves off
For some people, none of the three laser procedures is the right answer — usually because the prescription is very high, or the cornea is too thin or irregular to reshape safely. That doesn’t mean glasses forever. ICL suits adults with stable vision and healthy eyes, and comes into its own for high short-sightedness, long-sightedness or astigmatism beyond the laser range, and can be a good option if you have become intolerant to contact lenses. An ICL corrects your vision from inside the eye, rather than reshaping the cornea at all.
The ICL is a soft, clear lens, custom-made to your exact prescription, that sits behind the iris and in front of your natural lens — where it can’t be seen or felt. Unlike a contact lens, it needs no daily care. And unlike laser surgery, nothing is removed: your natural lens stays in place, your cornea is left completely untouched, and the lens can be removed or exchanged in the future if your eyes or your needs ever change.
The procedure takes ~30 minutes and is performed as day surgery, usually under light sedation, with anaesthetic drops to numb the eye and dilating eyedrops to enlarge the pupil. The folded lens is inserted through a tiny opening and unfolds into position. Vision typically improves within days as the eye settles. Because it is surgery inside the eye, ICL carries its own considerations, including rare risks such as raised eye pressure or cataract formation, making regular follow-up checks an important part of your care. Your surgeon will talk you through all the risks, benefits and alternatives before you decide anything.
ICL suits adults with stable vision and healthy eyes, and comes into its own for high short-sightedness, long-sightedness or astigmatism beyond the laser range, and can be a good option if you have become intolerant to contact lenses. Because each lens is individually manufactured for your eye, ICL is priced separately from our standard laser fee — you’ll receive a clear, all inclusive quote at your consultation.
Over 50? Refractive Lens Exchange may be the better conversation
Everything above assumes the problem sits at the front of the eye. From the mid-40s onwards, though, the eye’s natural lens itself begins to change — which is why reading glasses creep in even for people who’ve never worn glasses before. If that sounds like you, the better answer is often not to reshape the cornea at all, but to replace the natural lens: Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE), the same modern procedure as cataract surgery, performed before a cataract ever forms. It can correct distance and reading vision at the same time and it means never needing cataract surgery later in life. Dr David Kent and Dr Zea Munro both perform refractive lens exchange (RLE) surgery and cataract surgery in Christchurch. RLE deserves its own discussion, so we’ve covered it in full on our Refractive Lens Exchange page — and your free lens or laser assessment with a member of our experienced technical team is the best way to determine which option is right for you and fits with your lifestyle.
So which one is right for you?
Honestly: you don’t have to decide — your eyes do. The choice comes down to your prescription, your corneal thickness and shape, your age, your lifestyle and your visual goals, all things we measure and discuss at your free assessment. Some people who come in expecting SMILE pro turn out to be better suited to LASIK; some expecting LASIK get a better long-term result with PRK; and a few learn that their prescription is beyond laser altogether — and that ICL can still get them to clear vision. Offering all four means the recommendation is truly personalised to your eyes and your life.
If it is deemed that a laser procedure (SMILE pro, LASIK or PRK) best suits your requirements, the fee is the same and includes your consultation, surgery in Christchurch and six months of follow-up care either back with us at Fendalton Eye Clinic in Christchurch or we can arrange for follow up anywhere in New Zealand.
If ICL is your best option, you’ll receive a clear, individual quote before you decide anything.
Find out which procedure suits your eyes — a free no obligation screening
Book a free 30 minute lens or laser screening assessment with our technical team — in person at Fendalton Eye Clinic in Christchurch or with an experienced member of the Fendalton Eye Clinic team at one of our satellite clinics throughout the South Island of New Zealand in Invercargill, Dunedin, Queenstown or Nelson or start with a Zoom or phone consultation from anywhere in New Zealand. Or you can always start with our two-minute suitability quiz online. Call 0800 DR EYES (0800 37 39 37) or book online www.lasik.co.nz
