Follow-up of 15 children with severe ROP 1987-1989

Between 1987-89 fifteen premature infants with severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), at the age of ten months or less, were admitted as outpatients to the Department of Ophthalmology at the Orebro Medical Center Hospital. Initial examination of the infants showed that 6 eyes had stage 3+, 3 eyes had stage 4B and 21 eyes had stage 5 ROP. All 15 infants were born at gestational week 24-28 (mean value 26) and had a birth weight between 600 and 1310 g (mean 907 g). For stage 3+ cryotherapy was performed. For stage 4B and 5 buckling procedure and vitreous surgery was performed in an attempt to re-attach the retina. The children were followed 2-5.5 years. Postoperatively, the retinas of all eyes in stage 3+ and 4B were attached. Four retinas out of seventeen stage 5 eyes were later found to be centrally re-attached. One eye with stage 3+ and four eyes with stage 5 were not treated at all. At follow-up of stage 3+ and 4B, visual acuity was measurable in all eyes; in stage 5 only two out of four eyes with anatomically reattached retinas had perception of light.