Babies born prematurely are at risk for premature retinopathy, an eye condition that if not properly treated can end in permanent visual impairment or blindness.

What Is Premature Retinopathy?

Premature retinopathy – also known as Terry syndrome, retrolental fibroplasia or retinopathy of prematurity – is an eye condition that typically afflicts premature babies. While it’s usually mild and treatable, the worst cases can lead to permanent visual impairment.

Babies born prematurely may be born before their eyes have a chance to finish their prenatal development. After a premature birth, blood vessels may grow abnormally within the retina, the part of the eye that receives light and begins to translate it into neurological impulses.

In the U.S., about 14,000 babies are born each year with retinopathy of prematurity. Babies born before 31 weeks of gestation are complete are at the greatest risk, as are underweight babies of 1250 grams or less.

Most of these cases are mild, and the condition usually resolves without damaging the retina. More severe cases can end in retinal scars, detachment of the retina, or blindness. Around 400 to 600 infants born in the U.S. per year end up legally blind due to retinopathy of prematurity.

Treating Premature Retinopathy

The good news is that in the vast majority of cases, permanent damage from premature retinopathy is preventable. This condition can be successfully treated, as long as it is diagnosed and treated early enough.

The most common method of treatment is laser ablation, applied to the part of the retina that has failed to mature properly. Laser treatment can reduce the amount of abnormal blood vessels within the retina.

A newer treatment method involves injecting medication inside the eye. While this method has yielded positive results, more research is still being done on its long-term side effects and the rate of recurrence associated with it.

Other treatment options include retinal repair surgery, oxygen treatment, replacing the vitreous humor with saline solution, tightening a silicone band around the eye, and using cryotherapy to freeze abnormal blood vessels.

Timely treatment can prevent premature retinopathy from developing into a permanent vision impairment. Sadly, many cases of permanent blindness and retinal damage result from a failure by providers to identify and properly treat this condition.

Failure to provide proper follow-up treatment is another common basis of medical malpractice claims related to retinopathy of prematurity.

Due to the possibility of recurrence or future complications, adequate follow-up care is also essential. Following discharge from the hospital, a baby treated for retinopathy of prematurity should generally be seen for a follow-up consultation within eight to twelve months. A referral to a specialist may be in order.

Providers who fail to provide proper follow-up care may expose the patient to a risk of permanent visual damage, even after the initial treatment has been completed successfully.

Because retinopathy of prematurity is so treatable, many cases that lead to extraordinary complications and permanent harm may be related to medical malpractice. A consultation with a medical malpractice attorney can apprise families of all the legal options available to them.