In an ophthalmic laser procedure, a lenticule is formed in the cornea and extracted from the cornea to accomplish vision correction. The ophthalmic laser system is used to form top and bottom lenticule incisions which intersect each other to form an isolated volume of corneal tissue in between. The volume of tissue includes a lenticular portion having a circular or oval shape and a side tab that protrudes from the peripheral of the lenticular portion. The side tab has a radial dimension between 0.5 and 5 mm and a width between 0.5 and 3 mm in. An entry cut is further formed from the anterior corneal surface to the top or bottom lenticule incisions to provide access to the lenticule. During extraction, the surgeon uses the surgical tool to grab the side tab to extract the lenticule.
