Retinopathy of prematurity — past, present, and future in this battle against pediatric blindness

Retinopathy of prematurity is a vasoproliferative retinopathy occurring primarily, but not exclusively, in premature infants. The condition is a major cause of pediatric blindness in developed countries. Although acute retinopathy of prematurity regresses spontaneously for more than 90% of infants, a chronic or late proliferative phase follows in some eyes whereby tractional retinal detachments, macula ectopia and scarring, and significant visual loss occur. While retinopathy of prematurity was considered untreatable 10 to 20 years ago, the condition has become controllable in recent years. Cryopexy or laser are useful for arresting progression of ROP to avoid vitreo-retinal complications.