Laser Therapy Prevents ROP Blindness

Successful ROP Treatment For Premature Babies

Retinopathy of prematurity, or ROP, occurs in extremely premature babies. It happens when the blood vessels in the eye continue to grow after the baby is born, potentially detaching the retina. The good news is that ROP blindness is completely avoidable if the condition is properly screened, monitored and treated in a timely manner by a qualified physician at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). However, the reality is that ROP in infants happens hundreds of times every year. This is because of medical negligence when screening, monitoring or treating a child improperly.

Richard M. Shapiro has been assisting victims of ROP blindness for over 30 years and holding healthcare providers responsible when their mistakes cost children their sight. The top experts agree that laser surgery is the most effective and low-risk method of ROP treatment. It can prevent vision loss and newborn blindness.

What Does Laser Surgery Involve?

Known as diode laser photocoagulation or peripheral retinal ablation, laser treatment involves burning certain areas of the retina. This slows or reverses the blood vessels’ abnormal growth. Laser surgery, when performed by an experienced and qualified pediatric ophthalmologist at the NICU, has minimal side effects and a very low risk of further injuries. Indeed, the risk of performing laser surgery on ROP is much less dangerous than leaving the condition alone to develop into newborn baby blindness.

Since the laser destroys a portion of the peripheral retina, the child may experience some loss of peripheral vision after treatment. However, as between loss of peripheral vision and total blindness, which would you chose for your child?

My Baby Lost Vision and There Was No Laser Surgery. What Can I Do?

As awareness of ROP blindness spreads, doctors have no excuse for failing to stop the catastrophic, permanent effects of untreated retinopathy of prematurity. When a child is blinded from ROP, the healthcare personnel involved may try to claim that the disease progressed wildly and unexpectedly, rather than going through a predictable pattern of severity. This argument is extremely weak and applies only in rare circumstances.

Many parents are left with the impression that ROP simply causes blindness in a certain population of very premature infants. Additionally, doctors may tell parents that nothing that could be done to preserve your child’s vision. This is commonly what we hear when families first contact us. However, in most circumstances, ROP blindness is not only preventable, but it is curable.

We work hard to spread awareness of this preventable blindness and help parents already struggling with ROP blindness seek justice against negligent doctors. Failing to adhere to practical medical stands can constitute medical malpractice. You could receive significant damages to compensate for your child’s permanent disability.

Free Advice for Retinopathy of Prematurity Blindness/ROP in Infants

No child should ever go blind from ROP. We focus almost solely on ROP cases like these. Therefore, we can tell when something went wrong at the hospital to cause your child’s blindness. Please schedule a free consultation with our birth injury attorneys today. We can then explore your next steps together.

Let Us Review Your Case

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Treatments for ROP