Retinopathy of prematurity — past, present, and future in this battle against pediatric blindness

Abstract

Retinopathy of prematurity is a vasoproliferative retinopathy occurring primarily, but not exclusively, in premature infants. The condition is a major cause of pediatric blindness in developed countries. Although acute retinopathy of prematurity regresses spontaneously for more than 90% of infants, a chronic or late prolifer- ative phase follows in some eyes whereby tractional retinal detachments, macula ectopia and scarring, and significant visual loss occur. While retinopathy of pre- maturity was considered untreatable 10 to 20 years ago, the condition has become controllable in recent years. Cryopexy or laser are useful for arresting progression of ROP to avoid vitreo-retinal complications.