Outcomes of surgery for stage 4 and 5 retinopathy of prematurity in a developing country

Abstract

Objective: To assess anatomical and visual outcomes plus complications of surgeries in patients with stage 4 and 5 retinopathy of prematurity in a tertiary eye care centre in Bangladesh.
Methods: Retrospective case series of all patients that underwent surgery for stage 4 and 5 retinopathy of prematurity between January 2015 and January 2018 was carried out. Anatomic outcomes, qualitative visual acuity as well as the complications were assessed.
Results: Thirty three eyes of 25 patients were recruited in the study (12 male and 13 female). Overall 22 (66.7%) of the eyes had complete retinal re-attachment. The percentage for complete re-attachment for stage 4A, 4B, and 5 were 89.5%, 66.7% and 12.5% respectively. Overall 19 eyes (57.6%) had ability to fix and follow objects. This included 14 eyes (73.7%) in stage 4A, 4 eyes (66.7%) in stage 4B and 2 eyes (25.0%) in stage 5. The commonest complications noted were cataracts (15.2%), vitreous haemorrhage (15.2%) and glaucoma (9.1%).
Conclusion: Anatomical outcomes of surgery for stage 4A retinopathy of prematurity are very encouraging while those of stage 4B and 5 are poorer. Consequently, visual outcomes for stage 4A are also better than those for stage 4B and 5.