The first center for diagnosing and treating retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in Moldova will be opened at the Mother and Child Institute in Chisinau. The German foundation “Kinder solen sehen” donated the first medical equipment needed for detecting this disease, while two ophthalmologists from Lithuania – Rasa Bogdaniene and Rasa Sirtautene – made a fact-finding visit to Chisinau and will then return to help the Moldovan doctors work with the installed equipment.
Rasa Bogdaniene has told IPN that they want to help the Moldovan doctors to quicker gain the skills needed to work with the new medical equipment for correctly diagnosing ROP. “A screening service is needed for creating a modern system of diagnosing retinopathy of prematurity so as to detect the disease when it only starts to develop,” stated the ophthalmologist.
The two doctors from Lithuania have 20-year experience in diagnosing and treating retinopathy of prematurity. In the period they provided assistance to doctors from Belarus, Georgia and Kazakhstan in improving their knowledge in the given area.
The equipment donated to Moldova was already installed at the Premature Babies Section of the Mother and Child Institute. It costs about €20,000. The ophthalmologists from Chisinau hope the establishment of long-term relationships with the Lithuanian doctors will make it possible to purchase other necessary equipment with a view to creating the system for diagnosing and treating ROP, which is considered a leading causes of blindness in children.
Retinopathy of prematurity is abnormal blood vessel development in the retina of the eye. When a baby is born prematurely, the retinal blood vessels can grow abnormally. Most ROP resolves without causing damage to the retina. When ROP is severe, it can cause the retina to pull away or detach from the wall of the eye and possibly cause blindness. Babies weighing 1800 grams or less who are born before 30 weeks’ gestation are at highest risk.
