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I was just informed that my 25 weeker Violet has to have laser surgery tomorrow. I am scared to death and have no idea what to expect. Any shared experience would be very helpful. Thank you
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ROP Surgery
- By violetsmom
- Posted July 2, 2009 at 4:30 pm · 4 replies
- In In the NICU/PICU
- Shared with the public
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- By katek
- Posted July 2, 2009 at 4:43 pm
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Our son had the laser "procedure" a couple days before his due date. He was also a 25 weeker. He had ROP Stage 3 in zones 2 and 3. The laser procedure went smoothly. It is technically not a "surgery" b/c there is no cutting involved, but it does require sedation. Our son had some bradys after the procedure, but they gave him some caffeine and everything was fine. They also gave him some Tylenol afterward and for the next day to take the edge off of any pain.
I believe that he saw an ophthalmologist 7-10 days after the procedure. Things looked fine. Then, he saw her again 3 months later. After that, we switched to annual visits. At his last visit in November (he was 1 year 3 months adjusted), she said that his eyes looked good. He may be slightly nearsighted. He will probably need glasses before 1st grade. She will continue to monitor him annually in case it gets worse. And of course, we pay close attention to him; if his depth perception ever seems off or if his eyes begin to cross, we'll be sure to get him an appointment right away.
- By drakesmom
- Posted July 2, 2009 at 10:58 pm
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My son was born at 24w6d in June '07. He had ROP surgery when he was about 35 weeks gestation. He had ROP stage III with threshold disease. According to his records its was in zone 1.5 and zone 2 at the time of the surgery. He unfortunately hadnt been weaned from the vent at the time of surgery so we didnt have stress of him having to be reintubated. The procedure went really well took alittle over an hour per eye. He was alittle puffy after the surgery and didnt wake up until late that night. They did put antibiotic ointment in his eyes for a few days after as well as tylenol for pain if needed. If I remember right his sats were fine afterwards and his vent settings didnt have to change much. They came to look at him the next day then a week after the procedure. Like katek said it takes about a week or more to be able to tell if the surgery is a success or not. In my sons case it was and the ROP regressed. It was weird he was also able to finally come off the vent about a week later.
We now go every 3-4 months to the opthamologist. My son developed some myopia(nearsightedness) around 8 months actual and his right eye started to turn in about 6 months later. Neither have required any intervention until recently. I took him to the Dr on 6/12 and his nearsightedness remains about the same but he has developed an astigmatism in both eyes and the turning is slowly getting worse. So he is getting glasses and goes back in 4 months and we will probably begin patching then to help prevent a lazy eye. He may have to have surgery down the road to straighten to right eye but on a positive note he said his retinas looked good and were nice and flat. He said there was significant lasering and he may have some defects in his vision but we wont know until he can tell us. So all in all he was very fortunate. The surgery was a success and the problems he has now can be corrected. Good Luck tomorrow and keep us posted.
- By fiaryangel24
- Posted July 4, 2009 at 7:41 am
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My baby had her surgery when she was 3 months old and she is doing good. I Google searched information about the surgery because i was scared too. So if you afraid of a procedure, just look it up.
- By jennyrett
- Posted July 6, 2009 at 11:43 pm
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My son was 10 weeks early. He spent 2 months in the NICU. During his 8th week, he was diagnoised with ROP Stage 3, Zone 3 plus disease. He had the laser eye surgery. The treatment was over in no time at all. I, too, had worked myself up and became all nervous about it, but the flip side is he would've been blind. The doctor was awesome and did a fantastic job. His office is actually 1 1/2 hrs from where I live, but I still take my son to see him. We went every 3 months after the surgery and now we go every year (my son is 16 months old actual, 14 months adjusted). He did develop an astigmatism, which may or may not have been from the surgery. I have an astigmatism too. He will most likely need glasses around the age of 5 (which is when I started wearing them too). Good luck and keep us posted.
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