Premature retinopathy, also known as retinopathy of prematurity, is a disease of the eye affecting babies born several weeks before the normal human gestation period of 40 weeks. Typically, it affects those infants born up to 31 weeks of development.

Modern medical science has been able to intervene in emergent situations where fetuses would have otherwise died a century prior. The result is that significantly more infants are born today weighing under three pounds.

Premature retinopathy is more likely to affect children born severely underweight. It is linked to childhood blindness or mild to severe visual disabilities that can burden an individual for life.

The Causes of Premature Retinopathy

The retina is a light-sensitive tissue liner at the back of the eye. When it functions well, it sends nerve impulses along the optic nerve to the occipital lobe of the brain where visual images are interpreted.

Premature retinopathy is linked to abnormal blood vessels growing on the retinal surface. These blood vessels can leak and scar the area to different degrees. If left untreated, the scarred retina can partially or completely detach from the eye causing different degrees of visual impairment and blindness.

The blood vessels in question begin to develop at the end of the third trimester of pregnancy. If nothing interferes with the usual development of the unborn child and it can remain in utero for the full nine-month human gestation period, the eyes are mostly fully developed at birth.

If the baby is born prematurely, however, the growth of the blood vessels in the eye can become abnormal or stop growing altogether. There are different diagnosed degrees of premature retinopathy based on its progression. The likelihood of full or partial recovery is strongly connected to this progression and medical intervention.

Stages of Retinopathy of Prematurity

According to www.medicineplus.gov, there are five stages of development in the progression of prematurity of retinopathy:

• Stage one: blood vessel growth is abnormal, in the mild range
• Stage two: blood vessel growth is abnormal, in the moderate range
• Stage three: blood vessel growth is abnormal, in the severe range
• Stage four: blood vessel growth is abnormal, in the severe range AND there is a partially-detached retina
• Stage five: total retinal detachment

Treatments for Retinopathy of Prematurity

Treatment options for retinopathy of prematurity include laser therapy and cryotherapy. Laser therapy, also known as photocoagulation, burns away the side area of the retinal surface which has no natural blood vessel supply of its own. Cryotherapy uses a surgical tool generating freezing temperatures to eliminate side areas of the retinal surface.

The idea behind laser therapy and cryotherapy is the same – to slow and/or stop abnormal blood vessel growth altogether. The drawback to both treatments is that the patients are likely to lose some of their side vision in the pursuit of clear, head-on visual acuity.