Damgaard IB, et al. - The intraoperative and postoperative subjective patient experience following small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) and femtosecond laser–assisted LASIK were compared herein. Light sensitivity, eye discomfort, blurring, and fluctuations in vision improved from 1 to 3 months with SMILE. With LASIK, improvements were reported for light sensitivity, eye discomfort, eye dryness, gritty sensation, and fluctuations in vision from 1 to 3 months. During SMILE, tissue manipulation could be more uncomfortable than LASIK, but not more frightening. After 3 months, the subjective visual symptoms were comparable.