title: Effect of early vitreous surgery for aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity detected by fundus fluorescein angiography.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the effect of early vitrectomy for aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity (APROP) using fundus fluorescein angiography.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective, observational case series.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eleven eyes of 7 patients with APROP that underwent early vitreous surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  All eyes underwent vitrectomy with lensectomy that removed the vitreous gel around the fibrovascular proliferative tissue, but not the proliferative tissue when fibrovascular proliferation and retinal detachment occurred despite retinal photocoagulation. Fundus fluorescein angiography was performed before and after the early vitreous surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Dye leakage from the fibrovascular tissue, dilation and tortuosity of the retinal vasculature, and shunt vessels were evaluated by fundus fluorescein angiography. The status of the retinal reattachment was assessed postoperatively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nine eyes had severe dye leakage from the fibrovascular tissue and 2 eyes had moderate leakage seen by preoperative fluorescein angiography. Severe dilation and tortuosity of the retinal vessels were detected in 10 eyes and shunt vessels in 7 eyes. Six to 12 days after successful surgery, the retina reattached and dilation and tortuosity of the retinal vessels decreased substantially. Dye leakage diminished markedly in all eyes, resolved completely in 7 eyes, and was still apparent slightly in 4. At the final examination, fibrovascular proliferation and retinal detachment did not progress in any eyes; however, 2 eyes had a dragged or folded retina. Follow-up ranged from 6 to 19 months (mean, 9.2).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Early vitrectomy that removes vitreous gel from around the proliferative tissue promptly reduces vascular activity and may limit progression of retinal detachment in APROP.
authors.affiliation: The Department of Ophthalmology, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Sachiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nishina
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yokoi
authors.forename: Tae
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yokoi
authors.forename: Yuri
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Miina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hiraoka
authors.forename: Noriyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Azuma
mesh_terms: D001724:Birth Weight; D002199:Capillary Permeability; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D052577:Infant, Extremely Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007908:Lens, Crystalline / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D012163:Retinal Detachment / Q000517:prevention & control; D015861:Retinal Neovascularization / Q000517:prevention & control; D012178:Retinopathy of Prematurity / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D014821:Vitrectomy; D014822:Vitreous Body / Q000601:surgery*