Progressive visual loss in adults with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

Two visually monocular patients with retinopathy of prematurity, followed up for 14 and 5 years, developed progressive visual loss in their twenties and thirties, respectively. In one patient, who underwent no surgery, visual acuity deteriorated from 20/30 to 20/400 over a 14-year period. The second patient had surgery for retinal detachment. Visual acuity after surgery was 20/60. In the ensuing 2 years it dropped to counting fingers and the visual field constricted to 10 deg. We suggest that changes in the retinal pigment epithelium may compromise the photoreceptors in some ROP patients, thus leading to visual deterioration.