Comparative analysis of the outcomes of myopia correction using the RELEX SMILE and CLEAR methods

Purpose: to analyze the clinical and functional results of RELEX SMILE and CLEAR surgeries for myopia correction. Materials and methods. The first group consisted of 40 patients (80 eyes), including 20 men and 20 women aged 29.5 (26.00; 33.00) years old with moderate to high myopia, who underwent RELEX SMILE surgery using the VISUMAX femtosecond laser. The second group consisted of 40 patients (80 eyes), including 16 men and 24 women aged 27.00 (25.00; 31.50) years old with moderate to high myopia, who underwent CLEAR surgery using the FEMTO LDV Z8 femtosecond laser. Results. The purpose of the surgery was emmetropic refraction. When assessing the spherical equivalent of refraction in the postoperative period, patients in both groups were found to fall within the range of –0.5 to +0.5 D in 100 % of cases. Conclusion. The use of RELEX SMILE and CLEAR technologies showed equal effectiveness in correcting moderate and high myopia. Given the high effectiveness and predictability of the refractive effect, these operations can be interchangeable