R.O.P. and laser eye surgery

Dr. Alexandrescu was going to perform a "peripheral retinal ablation" on both of my eyes today. I was diagnosed with having Stage 3 Zone II Retinopathy of Prematurity. Dr. Chen and Dr. Alexandrescu had been checking my eyes almost every week since the beginning of April and now, they felt it was the best time to perform the surgery. The laser treatment would "stabilize the retinopathy of prematurity and minimize unwanted visual and anatomic outcomes". Mommy and daddy had a lengthy discussion with the doctor about the risks and benefits of this procedure. Some of the risks included but were not limited to pain, retinal detachment, retinal tear, loss of vision, loss of the eye, bleeding, scarring of the macule, macular dragging, blindness, decreased peripheral visual field, cataract formation, change in iris color, uncertain refractice errors, glaucoma, need for further laser treatment, intraocular injection or further intraocular surgery and strabismus.

I was moved into Room #204 for the procedure. I had been given eye drops for dilation since 7am. The doctor arrived around 9:40am. They gave me Fentanyl and Versed for conscious sedation and was told that the procedure would take about an hour per eye.

Waiting for the doctor to start the laser eye surgery

10:45am-12:40pm - finished with the Right eye and did some of the left eye but had to stop because my pupils were closing
1:45pm-2:30pm - finished up on my eyes; no complications

The doctor told mommy that everything went well and that I tolerated the procedure well. The doctor will be following up with me on Thursday to see how things are but it usually takes about 2 weeks to get a better view of the outcome. My eyes were very swollen and they put Maxitrol (an antibiotic/anti-inflammatory ointment) on the surface of my eye. Dr. Bassiri said that I would have to stay NPO for tonight. Boo. But I'm really glad that this surgery is over with. Mommy and daddy had been so anxious about my vision. Hopefully the doctor will be back to give us good news about my eyes' response to the procedure.