Retinopathy of Prematurity

Retinopathy of Prematurity is an eye condition that occurs in the eyes of premature babies. Eye vessels continue their development until birth. In premature births, these vessels continue their development after birth.

Premature babies need to be hospitalized in incubators. The high levels of oxygen they are exposed to during this time can cause abnormal development of the eye vessels. As a result, Retinopathy of Prematurity, also known as Rop's Disease, develops in the retinas of premature babies who have not yet completed their eye vessel development and can cause blindness if not treated in time. Therefore, premature babies should be examined by an ophthalmologist between 4-6 weeks. Subsequent examinations are repeated every 1-2 weeks until the normal delivery period is over, depending on the presence or absence of the disease.

How is Rop Examination and Treatment Performed?

Rop examination is the examination of the nerve layer of the eye called retina by enlarging the pupils of babies under topical anesthesia. The most important stage in the treatment of ROP is regular follow-up. Rop's disease heals spontaneously in 80% of babies. 20% of babies require treatment. The treatment of the disease continues from mild to the most severe treatment according to the stages of the disease.

In the first stage, only follow-up is sufficient. Laser treatment is the most commonly used treatment method for diseases that have reached the third stage. With laser application, damaged vessels in the eye are eliminated. In cases that are not detected in time and continue to progress despite laser treatment, vitrectomy surgery is applied to babies, but treatment at this stage does not always give the expected result.

ROP Disease Consequences

The worst outcome of ROP is blindness. Blindness is the most undesirable outcome in neglected patients who are not followed up and treated or in patients who are too late for treatment. In patients with follow-up and treatment, blindness does not develop if there is not too much delay.

ROP, which occurs as a result of keeping babies born prematurely alive with the developments in the field of medicine, has been taken under control in a sense. For healthy babies and healthy generations, make sure that your premature babies are examined by an ophthalmologist. If you contact BATIGÖZ during the diagnosis and treatment stages, your baby's ROP disease will be checked and if diagnosed, follow-up and treatment will be performed if necessary, preventing the occurrence of unfortunate consequences.