1. Are all preterm infants likely to have retinopathy of prematurity? Premature infants are defined as those born at a gestational age greater than 28 weeks and less than 37 full weeks. Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a retinopathy of the retina in immature or low birth weight infants. Most preterm infants may be born with immature retinal changes that mature over time on their own; however, a small number of infants with low birth weight, low gestational age, prolonged oxygen intake, respiratory disease, or other risk factors may develop ROP. Especially for infants with birth weight less than 1500 grams and gestation period less than 32 weeks, these premature infants are also the ones who need to be screened. 2. What are the risks of retinopathy of prematurity? The degree of harm caused by retinopathy of prematurity depends on three aspects (1) the partition of the lesion: the retina is divided into zones Ⅰ, Ⅱ and Ⅲ, zone Ⅰ has the most severe lesion and the worst prognosis, zone Ⅲ has the least severe lesion and the best prognosis; (2) the stage of the lesion: it is divided into 5 stages according to the severity, and stage 5 affects vision most obviously; (3) the presence of Plus lesion, if there is one, it indicates strong lesion activity and rapid deterioration. 3.Does retinopathy of prematurity have to be treated? Some retinopathy of prematurity can regress on its own and may affect vision less, but if it reaches the stage of needing treatment and is not treated at the right time, the child may lose vision permanently and may develop serious complications such as glaucoma, corneal leukoplakia, corneoscleral chylomalacia and ocular atrophy, which will eventually affect facial development. 4. How can I know if my child has retinopathy of prematurity? Retinopathy of prematurity is a fundus lesion, and most of them occur in the peripheral part of the eye. Since the child is too young to cooperate with the doctor, a fundus specialist with sufficient clinical experience should be selected to perform the examination first. Because the pupil muscles are stronger in children than in adults, it often takes several doses of eye drops to dilate the pupil. Smaller infants can be examined without anesthesia, but if they are too large to cooperate with the doctor, they will need to be monitored by an anesthesiologist before being examined with intravenous anesthetics, and in most cases they will not require hospitalization for observation. For preterm infants with a birth weight of less than 2,000g, a fundus examination should be performed 4 to 6 weeks after birth to rule out retinopathy of prematurity, and this criterion can be further expanded for preterm infants with serious diseases. 5. Can retinopathy of prematurity be treated if it occurs? Milder lesions can be followed up temporarily and do not require special treatment if they slowly subside, but may require laser or cryotherapy if they do not subside or if they worsen. Most early lesions are successfully managed with laser or cryotherapy, but some children may progress to advanced retinal detachment despite timely laser or cryotherapy treatment. Once in the advanced stages of retinal detachment, the chances of successful treatment are slim. Although surgery may be attempted, the success rate is often very low, and complications are likely to occur, often requiring multiple surgeries to achieve some results. At this point, even if surgery is abandoned, complications like corneal leukoplakia and secondary glaucoma in the late stages are bound to occur.