Combined cryosurgery and scleral buckling in acute proliferative retrolental fibroplasia.

The paper demonstrates that limited cryosurgery combined with scleral buckling in premature infants with acute proliferative retrolental fibroplasia in a procedure which can be extremely successful in the treatment of this devastating disease. Timing for surgical intervention is critical. The indications for the surgical intervention are stated. The continuous monitoring of those infants with retrolental fibroplasia is critical to the success of the operative procedure. Since critical timing for success is involved, a new schedule for ophthalmic examination of the premature infant is proposed. This new schedule differs significantly from that proposed by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 1971. At that time, there was no successful treatment for retrolental fibroplasia. In contrast, we submit that limited cryosurgery combined with scleral buckling is an efficacious form of therapy for this disease.