Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP)

Overview
Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is when blood vessels develop abnormally in the retina of premature infants. The blood vessels of the retina begin to develop 3 months after conception and complete their development at the time of normal birth. If an infant is born very prematurely, eye development can be disrupted. The vessels may stop growing or grow abnormally from the retina into the normally clear gel that fills the back of the eye. The vessels are fragile and can leak, causing bleeding in the eye. Scar tissue can develop and pull the retina away from the eye and cause blindness. High amount of oxygen can increase the abnormal growth of the blood vessels.

Symptoms
There are 5 stages of ROP.

• Stage I: There is mildly abnormal blood vessel growth.
• Stage II: Blood vessel growth is moderately abnormal.
• Stage III: Blood vessel growth is severely abnormal.
• Stage IV: Blood vessel growth is severely abnormal and there is a partially detached retina.
• Stage V: There is a total retinal detachment.

Tests/Diagnosis
ROP can not be seen by looking a a infants eye. It can only be diagnosed by a eye exam.

Treatments
Treatment may include cryotherapy (freezing) to prevent the spread of abnormal blood vessels.

Laser therapy (photocoagulation) may be used to prevent complications of advanced ROP. The laser therapy stops the abnormal blood vessels from growing. It can be performed in the nursery using portable equipment. To be effective, it must be done before scarring and detachment occurs

Surgery is needed if the retina detaches.

Resources
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002585/

Personal Story

Julia was born at 24 weeks and was the only surviving triplet. She spent 315 days in the NICU before she was strong enough to come home. During her time in the NICU she was on and off a ventilator and on high amount of oxygen for long periods of time. She had a trach put in at 6 months is hope of getting her off the vent and off high amounts of oxygen since her eyes were being affected by ROP. By the time she was 6 months old she had already had cryotherapy and many laser treatments on both eyes. She also had surgery on both eyes to try to reattach her retina's. Even though her ROP was caught early and treatment was started right away we were told our daughter was completely blind in both eyes. She is now 7 and doing great. She is blind but that does not stop her one bit from doing anything and everything a normal 7 year old would want to do.


Contributed by MOM Jodi