Clinical Trial Next for Laser Technique

!%Carl Zeiss Meditec AG%! of Dublin, Calif., and Jena, Germany, has received conditional approval from the FDA to initiate a clinical trial for its ReLEx smile procedure to correct myopia. The technique for refractive surgery combines femtosecond laser technology and precise lenticule extraction for minimally invasive laser vision correction in a single system, the VisuMax femtosecond laser. In lasik procedures, the excimer laser vaporizes tissue, while the ReLEx smile method generates a refractive lenticule in the intact cornea with the femtosecond laser. The surgeon then removes the lenticule through a small incision without having to move the patient to an excimer laser.