Independent publisher · not clinic-owned Editorial policy Educational information only, not medical advice
SmilePro.ae Find a SMILE Pro clinic
Menu Close
Find a SMILE Pro clinic Check your eligibility

Content is educational and is not a substitute for an examination by a qualified ophthalmologist.

Patient Guides

Questions to Ask Before Choosing a SMILE Pro Surgeon

The most useful thing you can take to a SMILE Pro consultation is a written list of questions. Clinicians answer specific questions far better than open ones, and written answers are the only way to compare two clinics fairly.

By
SmilePro.ae editorial team
Medical review pending: what this means
Published
Last updated

At a glance

  • Ask about your own measurements, not about the procedure in general.
  • Ask what would make you unsuitable: the answer reveals whether the assessment is real.
  • Get the follow-up and enhancement terms in writing before you decide.
  • You are allowed to take notes, and you are allowed to go away and think about it.

Most people leave a refractive consultation remembering about a third of what was said, and most of them agree to something within a week. A written list closes that gap. It is not confrontational (surgeons generally welcome being asked questions they can answer properly) and it is the only realistic way to compare two clinics on anything other than price.

Below is a list you can print and work through. The order matters less than asking all of them of every clinic.

About your eyes and your measurements

  1. What are my refraction, corneal thickness and topography results, and can I have a copy?
  2. Based on those numbers, how much tissue would be removed, and how much would remain?
  3. Is my prescription stable, and what evidence are you using to judge that?
  4. Are there any findings in my assessment that you would keep monitoring rather than treat?
  5. If SMILE Pro is not the best option for me, what would you recommend instead, and why?

Ask for the numbers rather than the conclusion. A surgeon who walks you through your own topography is demonstrating that the recommendation came from the data.

About suitability

  1. What would have made me unsuitable for this procedure?
  2. What proportion of assessments at this clinic end in a recommendation not to proceed?
  3. Is there anything about my eye surface, tear film or history that concerns you?

Question six is the most diagnostic question on the list. A clinician who can name specific thresholds from your own measurements is assessing you. A vague reassurance that “you’re a great candidate” is not an assessment.

About the surgeon and the practice

  1. Who will perform the procedure, and how many of these do you personally perform per month?
  2. Which laser platform is installed here, and when was it last serviced?
  3. Who will handle my follow-up appointments: you, or another colleague?
  4. If something unexpected happens during surgery, who deals with it?

About what happens afterwards

  1. How many follow-up appointments are included, and over what period?
  2. What is the enhancement policy: is a refinement included, for how long, and what would disqualify me from one?
  3. What would an enhancement involve after SMILE, given there is no flap?
  4. Which drops will I need, for how long, and are they included in the price?
  5. When can I return to work, drive, exercise, swim and fly?
  6. What symptoms would you want me to call you about, rather than wait for my next appointment?

About the costs

  1. Does the quoted price cover both eyes, the assessment, all imaging, medication and follow-up?
  2. What is excluded, and what would trigger an additional charge?
  3. Is there a separate charge if I need an enhancement?
  4. What documentation can you give me if I want to claim on insurance?

About the alternatives

  1. How does this compare with femto LASIK and PRK for my measurements specifically?
  2. What are the trade-offs I am accepting by choosing this procedure over the alternatives?
  3. If I decide to wait a year, what changes?

How to use the answers

Write them down as you go, and apply one test to each answer: is it specific to my measurements, or could it have been said to anyone?

Generalities are not necessarily dishonest: a lot of what a clinic says will apply to most patients. But the answers that matter are the ones that could only have been given to you. Those are the answers that show the assessment was about your eyes.

You are also entitled to take the answers away and decide later. A clinic that presses for a same-day decision, or frames availability as a reason to hurry, has told you something about how it operates. Refractive surgery is elective. The urgency is manufactured.

Keep a copy of our clinic comparison checklist alongside this list, and read the risks page before your appointment so that none of the answers is new information.

Questions this article answers

How do I choose a SMILE Pro surgeon?

Verify the surgeon’s licence and qualifications through the relevant register, ask how many lenticule extractions they have performed and how often they do them, ask what they do when a case does not go to plan, and pay attention to whether they are willing to tell you that surgery is not right for you.

Volume is not the same as quality, but a very low volume is a legitimate question. So is whether the person who assesses you is the same person who operates: in some clinics the assessment is done by a different practitioner from the one who performs the treatment.

Sources Dubai Health Authority

What questions should I ask before choosing SMILE Pro?

Ask which platform is installed and who operates it, what your corneal measurements are, how many of these procedures the surgeon performs and what their own revision rate is, exactly what the quote includes, who handles follow-up and out of hours care, and what the policy is if you need an enhancement.

There is a printable checklist of these questions available on this site. Take it to the appointment rather than trying to remember them under time pressure.

Can SMILE Pro be repeated if the result is not enough?

Enhancement is possible in selected cases, but it is a different situation from LASIK, where the original flap can often simply be lifted. After SMILE, options may include a surface ablation technique, or creating a flap in a second procedure, depending on your cornea and the residual prescription.

This is a good reason to ask any clinic what their enhancement policy covers: whether a second procedure is included in the original price, discounted, charged in full, or requires returning to the same surgeon.

Sources StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf

Is SMILE Pro covered by health insurance in the UAE?

Refractive laser surgery for the correction of short-sightedness or astigmatism is generally treated as an elective procedure and is commonly excluded from UAE health insurance plans, though individual policies differ.

Ask your insurer directly, and ask the clinic for the exact procedure and medical codes they will submit so your insurer can give you a definite answer rather than a general one.

See all frequently asked questions Browse the vision knowledge base

Sources & further reading

We prefer primary sources. Where a claim comes from a manufacturer, a single study or a regulator, it is labelled as such below.

  • Dubai Health Authority: Sheryan licensing and Dubai Medical Registry Regulator Dubai Health Authority

    The Dubai Health Authority’s licensing portal, including the public medical registry used to check that a facility and a practitioner hold a current Dubai licence.

    Used for How to verify a Dubai clinic licence; How to verify a surgeon’s licence and scope of practice; Regulatory context for the Dubai guide.

    Link checked 22 September 2026

  • The Royal College of Ophthalmologists Professional body The Royal College of Ophthalmologists (UK)

    The UK professional body for ophthalmologists, which publishes standards and commissioning guidance for refractive surgery services.

    Used for What good preoperative assessment and consent look like.

    Link checked 22 September 2026

  • Small Incision Lenticule Extraction (SMILE) Clinical reference StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf

    A continuously updated clinical reference chapter covering SMILE indications, technique, outcomes and complications, written for clinicians.

    Used for How the lenticule is created and removed; Indications and contraindications; Complication categories; Corneal biomechanics compared with flap-based surgery.

    Link checked 22 September 2026

These pages go deeper on the questions that usually follow this one.

How to Choose a SMILE Pro Clinic in Dubai Dubai Eye Clinics Who Is Eligible for SMILE Pro? Patient Guides SMILE Pro Cost in Dubai: What Patients Should Know Costs & Pricing SMILE Pro eye surgeons in Dubai Risks & side effects SMILE Pro cost in Dubai