Health and Wellness

Get better vision in 9 seconds

By: - January 26, 2023

Nine seconds.

That’s how long it will take to get your perfect vision back.   

This is made possible through CebuDoc Group’s latest investment of the Visumax 800 – SMILE Pro that revolutionizes refractive surgery by providing faster, more comfortable, more precise and painless vision correction for people with nearsightedness and astigmatism. 

The new technology is from German multinational technology company Zeiss Group that specializes in optics and optoelectronics that serve the medical, industrial, and consumer markets.

According to CebuDoc Group president and chairman Doctor Potenciano “Yong” Larrazabal III, CebuDoc is the first in Southeast Asia to have the Visumax 800-SMILE Pro.

Larrazabal, also a renowned ophthalmologist himself, emphasized the minimal recovery period of SMILE Pro compared to other vision-correction surgeries like LASIK (Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis). In fact, he confidently shared that patients can take a shower right after the procedure. 

CebuDoc Group president and chairman Doctor Potenciano “Yong” Larrazabal III during the launching.

“The most important is recovery. They can do anything the next day, swimming, sports. If you accidentally rub your eye, nothing will happen. You can take a shower right away and sleep in any position. A lot of patients like that. They want to do their normal activities right away,” he said.

To know more about the SMILE Pro procedure or to schedule a medical appointment, contact CebuDoc Group or visit their website

Prior to SMILE Pro, CebuDoc only offered the SMILE procedure through Visumax 500 in 2021, which took 23 seconds to complete, which was then considered the most advanced state-of-the-art laser vision correction since LASIK. 

“There’s a study that showed that it (SMILE Pro) is very stable in the long run because you don’t cut a flap anymore, you maintain the stability of the entire cornea. And lastly, dry eyes are very common after LASIK. A lot of patients complain, but since we don’t cut any flap anymore, we don’t cut the anterior corneal nerves, so the incident of dryness is almost zero,” Larrazabal explained. 

READ MORE: Big SMILE for Visayas and Mindanao as CebuDoc Group and Larrazabal Eye Group introduces the latest laser eye surgery technology

Since the introduction of SMILE Pro to CebuDoc’s Centre for Sight, Larrazabal has served more than 300 patients for SMILE. 

The doctor reported that there were no “regressions” reported in the last 2 years, which means no patient had their old vision back. 

According to the Department of Health (DOH), before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were over four million Filipinos living with undiagnosed eye problems. With SMILE Pro, they can get their perfect vision back in as fast as 9 seconds and say goodbye to their eyeglasses and contact lenses for good. 

To know more about the SMILE Pro procedure or to schedule a medical appointment, contact CebuDoc Group or visit their website.

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