Visual-Acuity And Visual-Field After Cryocoagulation For Retinopathy Of Prematurity (Rop)

The effect of cryocoagulation on visual functions in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants with ROP stage 3 is not well known. The development of binocular visual acuity and visual field was assessed using acuity cards and kinetic perimetry in the first year of life at 3-monthly intervals in 10 infants with ROP stage 3 treated with cryocoagulation. All had retinopathy over at least 240 degrees without macular involvement. They belonged to a group of 230 surviving VLBW infants of whom 25 were diagnosed with ROP (9 stage 1, 1 stage 2, 11 stage 3, 4 stage 4). Results were compared to norm values obtained in preterm infants: at the age of 1 year 7 infants showed normal development of visual acuity and visual field; 3 had decreased visual acuity and objective refraction revealed severe myopia; 1 of them had also abnormal visual field. These results suggest that in VLBW infants cryocoagulation in case of ROP stage 3 has no obvious deleterious effect on the development of visual acuity and they support the indication for cryocoagulation. The effect on the development of visual field needs further investigation.