LONG-TERM FORM IDENTIFICATION VISION AFTER EARLY, CLOSED, LENSECTOMY - VITRECTOMY FOR STAGE-5 RETINOPATHY OF PREMATURITY

Purpose: Form identification vision after early, closed, lensectomy-vi trectomy for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) stage 5 open funnel reti nal detachment is reported from a database that included 45 eyes of 27 infants. The focus of this report is the verbal responses at a mean a ge of 7.0 years for nine nonamblyopic (preferred) eyes of nine preterm infants with minimal developmental delay (good central nervous system function). Methods: All 45 eyes underwent initial cryotherapy for thr eshold ROP to the avascular retina to decrease the angiogenic stimulus (mean postconceptual age = 34.8 weeks) and subsequently underwent mul tiple cryotherapy sessions to the avascular retina and shunt with scle ral buckling to decrease retinal traction (mean postconceptual age = 3 8.0 weeks). When tractional retinal detachment occurred with an open f unnel, each eye underwent an early, closed, lensectomy-vitrectomy (mea n postconceptual age = 45.7 weeks). The 34 eyes with a successful anat omic result were fitted with contact lenses as soon as possible after surgery. Results: The nine nonamblyopic eyes of nine preterm infants w ith minimal developmental delay had the following visual acuities usin g Alien figures or Snellen test types: one eye 20/80, one eye 20/200, two eyes 20/400, three eyes 20/800, and two eyes 20/1600. Conclusion: These nine eyes support the thesis that form identification vision can be obtained by early vitrectomy for ROP stage 5 open funnel retinal d etachments.