Treatment Options

There are three options for treating ROP:

-Cryotherapy. This has been the standard treatment for ROP since the late 1980s. In half the cases of infants with threshold ROP, cryotherapy prevents progression to retinal detachment and possible blindness. A cold probe applied to the outside of the eye freezes the abnormal retina, eliminating its demand for oxygen. The abnormal blood vessels disappear and progression of scar tissue stops.

-Lasers. For more than 20 years lasers have been used to treat eye disorders in adults. But recent technical advances now make it possible to apply this treatment to newborn infants. The indirect ophthalmoscope – the same instrument used to examine the infant’s eye – is also used to deliver the laser beam into the eye. If the doctor can see the abnormal retina, the laser can treat it – with fewer side effects.

-Surgery. If cryotherapy or laser treatment at stage 3 is unsuccessful in preventing the progression to retinal detachment, there are still some surgical options. If the detachment is shallow – not a lot of space between the retina and the eye wall, a technique called scleral buckling may prove effective. This involves placing a silicone “belt” around the outside of the eye and tightening it until the retina is close enough to the wall to reattach itself. If scleral buckling is impossible or unsuccessful, a vitrectomy can be performed.