HYALOID REMNANTS IN THE EYES OF PREMATURE BABIES

Abstract

THE discovery that retrolental fibroplasia was a cause of blindness in premature infants (Terry, 1942) and of the role of oxygen in the causation of the disease (Ashton, Ward, and Serpell, 1953) has led to regular examination of the eyes of premature babies. In the search for evidence of this condition, the appearance of the immature fundus has become familiar. The pallor of the retina and disc, the thread-like vessels, and the vitreous haziness seen in the more immature are now well known. Careful examination of the eyes of the newborn is not a new idea, for Seissiger (1929) examined the eyes of 500 infants aged from 1 to 8 days and found, for instance, pupillary membrane remnants in 95 per cent. of them. Despite this, there has been little mention of the persistence of remnants of the hyaloid artery (Brit. med. J., 1960). Brown (1960) gives a good account of the eye of the premature infant, and states that the entire length of the hyaloid artery may be visible in a 28- week baby, while a remnant may be seen posteriorly at 32 weeks, which dis- appears by 38 weeks. Roper-Hall (1960) found complete hyaloid remnants in ten of eleven babies weighing between 2 and 3 lb. at birth; and remnants were seen in 58 per cent. of 55 weighing between 3 and 4 lb. and in 36-5 per cent. weighing between 4 and 5 lb. Forrester (1960) rarely failed to see rem- nants in babies of less than 3 lb. but found them uncommon in larger infants.