title: Early vitreous surgery for aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the efficacy of early vitrectomy for aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) to stop progression of retinal detachment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective, noncomparative, consecutive case series.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-two eyes (15 patients) with aggressive posterior ROP underwent vitrectomy with or without lens sparing, because retinal photocoagulation failed to stop progression of fibrovascular proliferation, despite being performed early, densely, and with early retreatment. We assessed the status of retinal attachment and foveal formation ophthalmoscopically and the presence or absence of fixation of visual behavior.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Follow-up ranged from six to 12 months (mean, 9 months). Six eyes (100%) in which a lens-sparing vitrectomy was performed developed a large tractional retinal detachment. In contrast, the retinas were completely reattached in 16 eyes (100%) in which vitrectomy with lensectomy was performed, nine eyes (56%) had foveal configuration, and 14 eyes (88%) had steady fixation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that early vitrectomy is effective for preventing retinal detachment in aggressive posterior ROP.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan. azuma-n@ncchd.go.jp
authors.forename: Noriyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Azuma
authors.forename: Kaoru
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Yukiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hama
authors.forename: Miina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hiraoka
authors.forename: Yumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Sachiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nishina
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005403:Fixation, Ocular; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D008297:Male; D009887:Ophthalmoscopy; D012163:Retinal Detachment / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012178:Retinopathy of Prematurity / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology; D014821:Vitrectomy