Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is the major ocular disorder of the neonate that primarily affects premature infants and the dominant cause of severe visual impairment in childhood especially in developing countries. ROP is a biphasic retinal vascular disease. In the first phase, relative hyperoxia results in vaso-obliteration and vessel loss. The second phase is characterized by hypoxia-induced neovascularization resulting in retinal detachment and blindness. Present therapeutic modalities to limit the adverse consequences of aberrant neovascularization are tissue-destructive. In this review, we discuss risk factors, pathogenesis, management, and available treatments of ROP, with the perspective of neonatology.
Key words: Newborn, retinopathy of prematurity, neonatology
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