Friday, March 21, 2014

Keeping Eyes Open for Retinopathy

Dear Ellie,

In a few days we'll be testing you for Retinopathy.  One of the common conditions of prematurity is abnormal blood vessel growth in the eyes, which can cause the retina to detach.  The early stage of the disease is common and treatable, but if left untreated, may lead to blindness.  Even just a few years ago, blindness due to extreme prematurity was extremely common.  Now a days, not so much.

You have roughly a 75 percent chance of getting some stage of Retinopathy, but its unlikely you'll advance to any of the further stages, especially with treatment.  If you'd been born full term and I was told that you might become blind, it would have worried me sick.  But now?  Just one small hill of a worry dwarfed by mountains.

No comments:

Post a Comment