Open AccessTechnical aspects of laser treatment for acute retinopathy of prematurity under topical anesthesia
Author(s) -
Subhadra Jalali,
Rajvardhan Azad,
Hemant Trehan,
Mangat R Dogra,
Lingam Gopal,
Venkatapathy Narendran
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
indian journal of ophthalmology/indian journal of ophthalmology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.542
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1998-3689
pISSN - 0301-4738
DOI - 10.4103/0301-4738.71689
Subject(s) - retinopathy of prematurity , medicine , blindness , childhood blindness , laser treatment , laser therapy , topical anesthesia , laser , optometry , ophthalmology , intensive care medicine , surgery , gestational age , pregnancy , genetics , physics , optics , biology
Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a significant cause of childhood blindness. The criteria for laser therapy have been revised from threshold ROP to include the earlier stage of high-risk prethreshold ROP. Laser photocoagulation is an established technique for the treatment of ROP. However, the detailed procedure and techniques for laser photocoagulation have not yet been published. Adequate and appropriate laser photocoagulation for ROP is different from the application of lasers in adult retinal vascular diseases, and many ophthalmologists need to be trained in this technique if the outreach of ROP treatment programs is to improve. Laser under topical anesthesia has been practiced in India as a preferred modality especially due to logistics and risks of general anesthesia in these pre-term babies. We discuss the details of the technique as practiced at tertiary care ophthalmic hospitals in India, so that the nuances in treatment parameters and clinical decision-making can be usefully applied to ophthalmic practice. This will ultimately lead to safe and effective treatment delivery in ROP.