Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), previously known as retrolental fibroplasia (RLF), is a disease of the eye that affects prematurely born babies. It is thought to be caused by disorganised growth of retinal blood vessels which may result in scarring and retinal detachment. ROP can be mild and may resolve spontaneously, but may lead to blindness in serious cases. As such, all preterm babies are at risk for ROP, and very low birth weight is an additional risk factor. Both oxygen toxicity and relative hypoxia can contribute to the development of ROP.
Following pupillary dilation using eye drops, the retina is examined using a special lighted instrument (an indirect ophthalmoscope). The peripheral portions of the retina are pushed into view using scleral depression. Examination of the retina of a premature infant is performed to determined how far the retinal blood vessels have grown (the zone), and whether or not the vessels are growing flat along the wall of the eye (the stage). Retinal vascularization is judged to be complete when vessels extend to the ora serrata. The stage of ROP refers to the character of the leading edge of growing retinal blood vessels (at the vascular-avascular border). The stages of ROP disease have been defined by the International Classification of Retinopathy of Prematurity (ICROP).
Retinal examination with scleral depression is generally recommended for patients born before 30-32 weeks gestation, with birthweight 1500 grams or less, or at the discretion of the treating neonatologist. The initial examination is usually performed at 4-6 weeks of life, and then repeated every 1-3 weeks until vascularization is complete (or until disease progression mandates treatment).
In older patients the appearance of the disease is less well described but includes the residua of the ICROP stages as well as secondary retinal responses.
This article sources material from the Wikipedia article "ROP" and does not represent a clinical diagnosis and should be treated as a basic guide only.