AIM: To observe the visual acuity changes within 24h after femtosecond laser small incision lenticule extraction(SMILE)and femtosecond laser in situ keratomileusis(FS-LASIK)for myopia.

METHODS: A retrospective analysis was made of 80 myopic patients(160 eyes)who underwent corneal refractive surgery in our hospital from August 2017 to March 2018. They were divided into two groups according to different surgical methods, 40 cases(80 eyes)in SMILE group and 40 cases(80 eyes)in FS-LASIK group. The visual acuity, intraocular pressure, corneal endothelial cells, intraoperative and postoperative complications were observed within 24h.

RESULTS: The operation was successfully completed in both groups. The uncorrected visual acuity(UCVA)of SMILE group and FS-LASIK group improved gradually at 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 24h after operation. At 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24h after operation, the UCVA of FS-LASIK group was better than that of SMILE group, and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05). The UCVA of SMILE group was the best 12 and 24h after operation, and that of FS-LASIK group was the best 6 and 24h after operation. The results of intragroup comparison before and after operation showed that the intraocular pressure(IOP)of the two groups was lower than that before operation, the density of corneal endothelial cells, the coefficient of variation were significantly decreased, the area of corneal endothelial cells and the proportion of hexagonal cells were significantly increased; the difference was statistically significant(P<0.01). The results of comparison between groups after operation showed that there was no significant difference in intraocular pressure and corneal endothelial cell related indexes between the two groups(P>0.05). No serious complications occurred during and after operation in both groups.

CONCLUSION: Within 24h after SMILE and FS-LASIK, the visual acuity changed greatly, and good visual acuity was obtained.