Chief of Medical Services at Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, Dr Wajid Ali Khan has said that the majority of premature newborns born weighing less than 1.5 kg are at a higher risk of developing retinal blood vessel disorganisation, which can result in visual issues, including lifelong blindness. Talking to media persons here on Wednesday, he said that the development of the baby's eyes was one of the numerous challenges faced in those first few vulnerable weeks by prematurely born babies that were born before 266 days. Dr. Wajid Ali Khan said that the issue can be fixed with screening and surgery to help prevent major vision issues in children in the future. He explained that an infant's eye development may be affected if delivered prematurely. The retina's blood vessels start to expand three months after conception and finish at the time of a normal birth.

The smallest and sickest were most at risk of developing Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), which is the primary cause of pediatric retinal blindness, he said. The chief of medical services at Al-Shifa said that this was because using extra oxygen to treat premature newborns in hospitals promotes aberrant vascular growth in the eyes, and research indicates that the rate of advanced retinopathy can be lowered by maintaining a lower oxygen saturation level. He stressed that to ensure that their premature infant receives the ongoing care of an ophthalmologist due to their increased risk of developing amblyopia, eye misalignment, and the need for glasses to develop normal vision, parents should incorporate a vision screening into their schedule between the ages of six and twelve months.

According to Dr Wajid Ali Khan, every year in Pakistan, over 900,000 kids were delivered prematurely, and 80 percent (700,000) of them have vision issues. Over 40 highly skilled eye surgeons, including some of the most experienced eye specialists in the paediatric department, work at Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital in Rawalpindi. With the hospital's current expansion, the pediatric department can now care for more than 500 OPD newborns per day, he informed. According to Dr. Wajid Ali Khan, we have MoUs with the administrations of the Benazir Bhutto, Combined Military, and Fuji Foundation hospitals. Under these agreements, we will provide all medical services, including screening and surgery, for newborns born at these hospitals and transportation.

He said that Al-Shifa was one of the few hospitals in the world and the only one in the SAARC region with the most up-to-date equipment and trained medical professionals to treat newborns with ROP. Since March 2013, Al-Shifa has screened and treated newborns, focusing on those under seven months old. In the past ten years, the trust has successfully treated almost 15,000 babies. He asserted that as awareness rises, the number will inevitably rise, and he said that with the use of teleophthalmology, we are offering free consultation to all state-owned and private health facilities, including those located abroad.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)