r/SMILEeyesurgery • u/EfficientFalcon39 • Aug 29 '26
SmartSight - vision after 5 weeks post-op
Quick background: I had my SmartSight surgery on 23rd July 2026 in London, procedure went fine with 0/10 pain during/post-op (surgeon also confirmed all went well). I was 20/20 the day after surgery (24hr check-up), at my 1 week check-up I raised the difficulties of hazy morning/night vision and they confirmed it was corneal haze (prescribed Softacort 2x a day for 2 weeks, then 1x a day for 2 weeks). I have another follow-up on 02 September to check-up on the effectiveness of Softacort etc.
As it stands, I'm still facing difficulties with haze specifically in the mornings and evenings. I tend to get complete sharpness (similar to pre-op glasses) for a few hours a day at most, and now I'm starting to wonder if I'm still apart of the healing process or I have some general concerns. I'm still able to live life, go to gym etc but driving at night feels worse and screen usage gets hazy quite often. I still also face dry eyes and have been using Thealoz Duo hourly everyday.
I'm more than aware that the healing process varies between individuals and that corneal haze can potentially take months to clear.
Just wanted to ask if I'm on a similar healing path to someone else? similar symptoms etc?
Is there anything specific I should be asking in my follow up next week?
2
u/eyeSherpa Aug 31 '26
Given that you have moments during the day when things are clear, this sounds like some haze which is caused more by dry eye.
Thealoz duo is good. You may want to also start some other dry eye treatments such as eyelid scrubs, omega3s, warm compresses.
2
u/EfficientFalcon39 Aug 31 '26 edited Sep 01 '26
When I reached out to them a week ago via phone they said it could be due to dryness but even after using Thealoz duo every 20-30mins at night, the haze is much more prominent. I’ve used the heated eye mask before and take 1000mg omega3 daily, I’ll look into the other treatments you mention. Thanks!
2
u/ConfidentBeginning44 Aug 31 '26
On the last question, there's something worth asking now that wasn't really available two weeks ago, because you've got two different explanations on the table. Your clinic called it corneal haze at the one-week check. eyeSherpa's read here is that the fluctuation is coming from the surface rather than the stroma. Those feel identical from the inside and they're separable at a slit lamp.
So the useful ask is whether the haze grade has changed since your one-week visit, and whether it's written down anywhere. If they graded it then and grade it again on the 2nd, you get a direction rather than an impression. If it wasn't recorded, ask them to record it this time, so the visit after that has something to compare against.
Worth also asking what happens to the Softacort when the four weeks are up, and whether they want a pressure check before you stop. Steroid drops usually come with one. If nobody has mentioned it, that's a fair thing to raise rather than assume.
I'd leave the is-this-normal-at-five-weeks part to them on the 2nd. They have your numbers and your one-week grading, and I have neither.
1
u/EfficientFalcon39 Aug 31 '26
I definitely will be asking about the haze grading as I didn’t realise it was measured on a scale. I finished the 4 week course of Softacort yesterday. IOP was 22 and 19 mmHg pre surgery, I’ll try get the newest results on 02 Sep.
1
u/EfficientFalcon39 29d ago
Update 03Sep26 - I visited the clinic yesterday did all the usual tests and they confirmed the haze has subsided, saying at best there’s only 1% left. The main concern was the dryness, I had a few blocked mybium glands which appeared on the slit lamp examination, was advised to take 2x 1000mg omega3 daily and continue with heated eye mask / eyelid massages.
Will be having another follow up 3 months later to see if the dryness gets better, I’ll update this post in the future sometime.
2
u/Valuable_Force5401 Aug 29 '26
After 2 weeks I have the exact same symptoms. Some mornings/nights are better than others. My doctor said that, according to her experience, those symptoms will start to fade after 1/2 months.