Gwangju Shinsegae Eye Clinic, Honam's First 65,000 Cases of SMILE Surgery Recorded

11 Years Since Introduction · A Remarkable Achievement Just One Year After Certifying 50,000 Cases Last Year

Gwangju Shinsegae Eye Clinic (Chief Director Kim Jaebong·photo) announced on the 27th that it has recorded 65,000 cases of SMILE surgery, the first in the Honam region. It has been 11 years since its introduction in 2013.

This achievement was made within one year after certifying 50,000 cases last year, and it is an exceptionally large number nationwide for a single eye clinic. Recently, due to the increasing number of patients, new machines have been introduced, and a total of three are in operation.

SMILE surgery is a procedure that removes the corneal stroma through a 1-2 mm micro-incision, minimizing corneal damage, unlike LASIK which creates a flap by cutting the cornea, or LASEK which removes the corneal surface.

Because of this, one of the side effects of vision correction surgery, dry eye syndrome, is less common, and since no corneal flap is created, it is very resistant to external shocks. In particular, there is almost no pain after surgery, and recovery is fast enough to allow daily activities the next day.

It should be noted that the key step of vision correction, the separation of the corneal stroma, is performed directly by the surgeon, not by a machine. Therefore, this surgery requires highly skilled medical staff with advanced expertise.

Gwangju Shinsegae Eye Clinic was the first in Korea to receive the ‘LEADING SMILE CENTER’ plaque from the German company Carl Zeiss, and Chief Director Kim Jaebong also received the ‘Best Skilled Surgeon in SMILE’ award.

Additionally, having recorded the highest number of ICL lens implantations in the Honam region, it was selected as the ‘Best ICL Center’ for four consecutive years by the developer, the American company STARR Surgical.

Moreover, possessing various multifocal intraocular lenses, the clinic has recorded 15,000 cases of eye and intraocular surgeries, gaining recognition not only for vision correction surgery but also for presbyopia and cataract surgeries.

Chief Director Kim Jaebong said, “SMILE surgery is a highly difficult procedure that requires separating and removing the corneal stroma through a very small incision, so the skill level of the medical staff is crucial. Since vision affects a lifetime, it is advisable not to be swayed by low prices or advertisements, but to carefully check various factors such as whether the medical staff has abundant clinical experience and whether proper aftercare is provided.”