retinopathy of prematurity…

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eye, retrolental fibroplasia, rop, retina, the eye that transmits visual information, brain, retinopathy of prematurity, disorder of retinal blood vessel development, in the premature infant, severe form is characterized by retinal vascular proliferation, scarring, retinal detachment, blindness, blood vessels, the retina begin to develop three months after conception, complete development, time of normal birth, an infant is born very prematurely, infant's eye development, disrupted, in infants who develop retinopathy of prematurity, rop, vessels grow abnormally, retina, clear gel that fills the back, the eye, vessels, fragile, hemorrhage, eye, followed by scar tissue development which pulls the retina loose, inner surface, the eye, draws it toward the center, the globe, producing a retinal detachment, reduce vision, severe, result in complete blindness, many premature infants develop transient, mild abnormal retinal blood vessel growth that converts to normal growth, approximately 1 out of 10 infants, early changes, progress to more severe retinal disease, excess use of oxygen to treat premature babies stimulated abnormal vessel growth, currently, oxygen, accurately monitored, rare, risk of developing rop is proportional, severity of prematurity, all babies less than 32-34 weeks gestation, screened, the smallest premature babies, no matter what gestational age, have the highest risk, subtle retinal changes of rop, visible only by ophthalmoscopic examination, cannot be seen by the parents, all premature infants, screened, followed routinely, results of severe rop, produce some, signs, white pupils, leukocoria, abnormal eye movements, nystagmus, crossed eyes, strabismus, severe nearsightedness, myopia, retinopathy of prematurity, diagnosed, examination, ophthalmologist, few signs that rop is developing, specially important to screen babies less than 32 weeks gestation, examination is painless, requiring eye drops, examination, follow-up examinations, conducted in approximately 2 week intervals, special tests, not required, cryotherapy, freezing therapy, laser therapy, is now used more commonly than cryotherapy, treat areas of retina, not had normal development of blood vessels, to be effective, scarring, detachment occurs, surgery to reattach the retina, detachment develops, children, milder changes, need special low vision support, they grow, early stages of rop, proper screening, treatment, limited to laser therapy, close follow-up, laser therapy, in the nursery using portable equipment, majority of infants, mild rop, expected to recover completely, severe rop, lead to marked visual abnormalities, blindness, again, most important factor, in the outcome is early detection, blindness, severe myopia, near-sightedness, most children, severe vision loss from retinopathy of prematurity have other complications of prematurity, require a multi-disciplinary approach to rehabilitation, condition is discovered, in the hospital setting, evaluation, the premature infant, child has had rop, appears to be having increased visual difficulties, contact health care provider, incidence of rop in moderately premature infants has decreased dramatically, better care, in the neonatal intensive care unit, ironically, has led to high rates of survival of very premature infants who would have had little chance of survival, very premature infants, highest risk of developing rop, becoming more common again, most effective prevention of retinopathy of prematurity is prevention of premature birth.