Essay - Retinopathy of Prematurity (Rop) is a Disease that Causes a...

Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) is a dise*****se that causes a dise*****se of the retina of the eye. Primarily, it affects babies that are born very prematurely and is involves vessels in ***** retina ***** grow in an abnormal fashion. There are five different stages that th***** disease is classified *****, and stages one & two do not usually require any kind of treatment. Stage *****ree sometimes requires treatment, and stages four and ***** definitely require treatment. *****s four ***** five also ********** cause retinal detachment, which can be much more serious. In stage four, a retinal detachment ***** usually only partial, but a total detachment can occur if it is left untreated. Stage ***** ***** also have a r*****pid progression and can end up as stage ***** if something is not *****ne quickly. Stage five involves a total detachment of the retina and is considered to be the d*****ease's 'end *****.' There is *****ten a white and dense membrane behind ***** eye's lens in this stage, and the ***** is often seen ***** be adhered to this bit of scar tissue. If ***** five ret*****opathy of prematurity is not treated, the premature baby will *****come completely blind in both eyes and can also develop other complications such as clouding of the cornea and a high intraocular pressure, ***** ***** lead to glaucoma in some c*****es. There are three different zones in the retina that can be affected by retinopathy ***** prematurity. Zone one is the most centrally located zone, and disease that develops in this area is often seen to ***** ***** serious than disease ***** develops ***** ***** two ***** three (www.schepens.com,n.d.).

Regression of the disease or spontaneous healing is often seen, but if this does not happen blindness and severe visual impairment can occur. These problems can usually not be reversed and are obviously damaging ***** the overall welfare of the child as it grows and matures. Even though there have *****en m***** advances in recent years in neonatology, ***** rema*****s a very serious concern. *****, ROP is seen most often in babies that have an extremely low birth weight. Hav*****g that low birth weight, a very young gest*****tional age, ***** the amount of days that ***** ba***** has to receive s*****plemental oxygen all contribute ***** the disease and how significant ***** is. ***** have been other factors ***** have ***** associated with the problem more *****ly, but the severity ***** illness and the amount of time spent on oxygen seem to be ***** largest predicting *****. In other words, the infants that are the sickest and the sm*****est when they ***** born are the ones that have the highest risk ***** ROP, and also the ***** that ***** the highest risk for the ***** serious stages of ***** disease. Interestingly enough, babies that are African-American appear ***** be less likely to experience ROP on a level ***** is considered severe (www.emedicine.com,2002).

During gestation, retinal vasculature usually begins developing around the 16th week. This vasculature grows in a