Visakhapatnam: A rare eye procedure saves 45-day-old infant from blindness

Visakhapatnam: Sankar Foundation Eye Hospital has achieved another milestone by saving the vision of a 45-day-old premature infant.

Dr Krishna Teja, a retina specialist, performed the procedure under the able guidance of Dr JK Challa, a senior retina consultant.

The child was identified with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), which occurs in premature babies with birth weight of less than 2,000 grams and was supplemented with oxygen therapy. This disease can lead to blindness in babies if not treated at an early stage.

The 45-day-old baby with birth weight of 1,006 grams suffering from respiratory distress and septicemia was diagnosed with aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity (AP-ROP) in both eyes. Both eyes of the baby were treated immediately with intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injection thereby preventing blindness.

In Visakhapatnam, ROP eye screening programme is being conducted by Sankar Foundation at Government Victoria General Hospital (GOSHA) and Apollo Hospital on every Thursday.