63 - Pediatric retinal vascular diseases

Abstract

Retinal diseases in children present a very unique challenge to the ophthalmologist. Unlike adult conditions, which often involve the macula, pediatric retinal pathology usually affects the periphery first. Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) represents the most common condition, and because of established screening and treatment guidelines, it is often detected and treated with a high success rate. The addition of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatments has improved the success rate in controlling even the most aggressive forms of this disease. Other conditions such as Coats disease, familial exudative vitreoretinopathy (FEVR), persistent fetal vasculature (PFV), and incontinentia pigmenti (IP) are often detected after the disease has resulted in loss of vision. If diagnosed early and treated appropriately, Coats disease, FEVR, and IP can be controlled through indirect laser treatment, and when bilateral, the less involved eye can be salvaged with good vision.