With treatments like in-vitro fertilisation, and test tube babies, the number of premature babies, particularly twins and triplets, born with Rop, is rising steadily.
Rop is caused by under development of blood vessels in the retina
When Shilpa Hertzberg gave birth to her baby in November last year, exactly three months before her delivery date, she knew that there were tough times ahead. But little did she know that her premature baby also suffered the risk of losing his vision permanently.
Almost immediately after birth, baby Aron was diagnosed with retinopathy of prematurity (Rop) — a condition that can cause potential blindness and which commonly affects prematurely born babies. “It was the first time we had heard of it. Our paediatrician explained it to us and referred us to an ophthalmic surgeon,” said Shilpa, the 32-year-old Khar resident.
About five sessions of timely treatment later, Aron now has normal vision. “He will need regular check-ups and might need glasses in future. But we are just glad that his vision has been saved,” said the mother.
But not everyone is as lucky as Aron. Caused by the disorganized growth of retinal blood vessels among premature babies, this condition, said ophthalmologist Dr Himanshu Mehta, is being seen more and more frequently.
With a lot of parents opting for fertility treatments like in-vitro fertilisation, test tube babies, the number of premature babies, particularly twins and triplets, born with Rop, is rising steadily. But since only a vitreo-retina trained surgeon can perform the complex treatment procedure, not every ophthalmologist can treat Rop.
Premature babies, who are born in 24 to 28 weeks, are known as low birth weight (LBW) babies. “While earlier such babies never stood a chance of making it, now with advanced technology and medical equipment, it is possible to save more and more pre-term babies. However, they do have problems such as lung disease, heart ailments, Rop etc,” he said adding that he currently has two patients lined up for treatment for Rop.
“The development of the blood vessels in the retina is not fully complete till the 36th week. But when a baby is born prematurely, this normal vessel growth in the retina stops. Such babies are put on oxygen, which sends the signal to the body that a particular area in the retina is deprived of blood. And so, new abnormal vessels begin to grow in the peripheral area of the retina. If this growth is not stopped, it could lead to blindness,” Mehta said.
Generally, a laser procedure involving four to five sittings is needed, where a green argon laser or a diode laser
is used to ‘burn’ the abnormal vessels. “Timely treatment
is essential, generally three to four weeks after birth,” said Mehta.
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