Retinopathy of Prematurity
A potentially blinding disorder affecting the tiny babies that are born too soon
We help you see better.
We are one of the few tertiary eyecare referral centres in India equipped to treat babies with ROP.
- Early Symptoms: None
- Late Symptoms: Unusual eye movements, white pupils, vision loss
- Diagnosis: Eye exam or photographs of the retinas
- Treatment: None (for mild cases), laser treatment, cryotherapy, eye injections (for severe cases), Vitrectomy (for retinal detachments due to end-stage ROP)
Different stages of ROP
Conventional ROP is classified into five stages, ranging from mild (stage I) to severe (stage V).
- Stage I — Mildly abnormal blood vessel growth. Many children who develop stage I improve with no treatment and eventually develop normal vision.
- Stage II — Moderately abnormal blood vessel growth. Children need treatment either by laser or eye injections at this stage to arrest the disease.
- Stage III — Severely abnormal blood vessel growth. Urgent treatment by eye injections or laser is crucial to prevent blindness.
- Stage IV — Partially detached retina, needs lens sparing vitrectomy at this stage to preserve vision.
- Stage V — Completely detached retina and the end stage of the disease. Needs vitrectomy with lensectomy (removal of the crystalline lens of the eye). If left untreated, the eye eventually becomes blind and may even shrink.
Most babies who develop ROP have stages I or II. However, in a small number of babies, ROP worsens, sometimes very rapidly. Untreated ROP threatens to destroy vision.