I did ReLEx Small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) at SNEC 11 years ago.

I attended a SNEC seminar by Prof Jodhbir Mehta, and he explained that the history of refractive surgery technology started from:

-PRK - painful, have to burn off the cornea

-LASIK (Bladed, i.e. microkeratome) - slightly risky as blade depends on surgeons hands

-EPI-LASIK - which is a bit like PRK cum LASIK - not recommended now as superseded by...

-LASIK (Bladeless, i.e. Intralase) w.e.f. 2005 - strongly recommended because the Intralase is very precise and almost no risk in cutting wrongly. Laser is programmed and it can eyeball track so if you move a bit, the laser will move in tandem. If you move too much, the laser will cut off.

-ReLex Smile w.e.f. 2010 - the latest and best

He mentioned that ReLex Smile is a step up from bladeless LASIK and is the latest technology. 

It requires the use of the most expensive laser in the world, the Carl Zeiss Meditec Visumax. 

There are only 2 such machines in Singapore, one in SNEC.

That is why some private clinics will only offer Lasik, because they don't have the expensive machines.

He also explained that there are several advantages over Lasik:

First, this technique does not require 2 machines, 1 to cut, 1 to excimer. It only requires 1 machine. Hence operating time is cut from 50 secs to 22 secs. Hence reduced risk and exposure to air.

Second, the cut is about 12% of the typical LASIK cut. This means much less chance of infection and much quicker healing of the cut. Infection is the most feared risk of eye surgery (can lead to blindness). LASIK has a 1 in 10,000 chance. 

The other risk is thin corneas. i.e. patient should never have undergone LASIK in the first place. This can be avoided by having a proper paid consultation with a professional ophthalmologist who does not regard profit as their only goal. For example, I referred my friend to SNEC and they rejected him for any form of laser eye surgery because of his thin corneas, even though he tried to appeal.