ABSTRACT
Retinopathy of prematurity (also known as retrolental fibroplasia) is a condition that affects premature babies, whose survival is dependent upon being exposed to high oxygen saturation in the incubator in which they are nursed from birth. The retinal development at that stage in the neonate is incomplete, and when the baby is removed from the incubator into normal, atmospheric oxygen the retina suffers a relative deprivation of oxygen and responds by undergoing a dramatic proliferation of blood vessels, particularly at the periphery of the developing retina. The condition has different grades of severity but, at its worst, causes traction detachment of the retina and blindness.
