Daily Times

Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital has prevented sixteen thousand premature babies from developing irreparable damage to their eyes over the past eleven years through timely intervention.

Dr Wajid Ali Khan, the chief of medical services at Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital on Tuesday said that the growing incidence of retinal abnormalities among premature infants in Pakistan calls for urgent attention.

Talking to the media, he said that the majority of premature babies who weigh less than 1.5 kilograms at the time of birth have a high risk of developing the disorganized growth of retinal blood vessels, which could cause vision problems, including permanent blindness.

Dr Wajid said that babies born prematurely have many obstacles to overcome in their first weeks, including abnormal eye development, which could be resolved through screening and surgical procedures to help avoid serious eyesight problems.

He said the retina’s blood vessels begin to develop three months after conception and complete their growth at normal birth, however, eye development could be disrupted if an infant was born prematurely.

“Latest studies have shown that keeping the oxygen saturation at a lower level can reduce the rate of advanced retinopathy,” he said.

He said one in ten babies worldwide is born early, with a chance of eyesight issues. Therefore, parents must include a vision screening in their list of baby check-ups between six and twelve months of age. The health officer added that every premature infant deserves the constant attention of an ophthalmologist because they are at increased risk for eye misalignment, amblyopia, and the need for glasses to develop normal vision.

He said that in Pakistan, about 900,000 babies are born annually, out of which about 100,000 are prematurely born, and eighty per cent of them are prone to eye problems.

Dr Wajid informed that the Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital Rawalpindi has over 40 highly qualified eye surgeons, and the Pediatric Department has some of the most senior eye specialists, adding the hospital has expanded handling over 500 OPD babies daily. He said “We had signed MoUs with the administrations of Fauji Foundation Hospital, Combined Military Hospital, and Benazir Bhutto Hospital, under which the trust will provide all the facilities, from transportation to screening and surgery, for premature babies born in these hospitals.”

Al-Shifa is the only hospital in the SAARC and among the few worldwide with the latest facilities and skills to treat newborns with Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), he informed. Dr Wajid further added that Al-Shifa started screening and treating newly born babies, especially those under seven months, in March 2013 and has cured around 16000 babies in the last 11 years.