Don't let children lose their light

Treatment success rate is over 98%

Ms. Ha Quyen gave birth to her baby girl at the 26th week of pregnancy, the baby girl weighed 900 grams. Like many other newborns, when screened, doctors at Dak Lak General Hospital diagnosed that the baby was at risk of blindness due to premature birth and advised Ms. Quyen to take her baby to Children's Hospital 1 for treatment.

“I hope my baby gets treatment soon and her vision stabilizes. If she doesn’t get screened and treated, I don’t know what her future will be like,” said Quyen, her eyes red as she and the nurses took her baby into the operating room.

Ms. Quyen is one of dozens of parents whose children are being treated at the Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) Screening and Treatment Center at Children's Hospital 1 - the first center in Vietnam. According to Dr. CK2 Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh, Acting Head of the Ophthalmology Department, Children's Hospital 1, ROP is one of the leading causes of blindness in premature babies worldwide , especially in developing countries.

According to statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), every year about 15-20 million low birth weight babies are born, of which 10%-20% are at high risk of ROP if not screened and intervened promptly.

“In Vietnam, the rate of premature and low birth weight babies is increasing and the risk of ROP is high, but in the past, our country did not know about this disease, many patients went blind without knowing the cause, only knowing that it was congenital blindness. When medicine became more developed, through surveys to find the cause, it was discovered to be due to ROP; but before that, the rate of premature babies saved was high, the number of babies who went blind was also high,” Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh shared.

Doctor Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh examines a child being treated at the Center for Screening and Treatment of Retinopathy of Prematurity. Photo: PHUONG UYEN

In 2004, Children's Hospital 1 was supported by the non-governmental medical organization ORBIS, sending experts for training, supporting machines and equipment to examine and treat children. At first, there was only the laser method, but in 2015, there was an advanced treatment method using anti-VEGF drugs. Over time, in 2017, Children's Hospital 1 officially launched the ROP Center.

As the center's manager, Dr. Ngoc Anh said that the initial period of operation was quite difficult, and screening immediately after birth was very important for diagnosing and treating babies during the "golden time". Fortunately, with the enthusiastic cooperation of maternity hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City, the support of Ho Chi Minh City Eye Hospital and the connection from other departments in the hospital to advise parents, all cases received treatment had positive results. Up to this point, the success rate of ROP treatment is up to over 98%.

“Baby's vision is stable, it's a miracle”

Having a child being treated for retinopathy of prematurity, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Duong (living in Go Vap district, Ho Chi Minh City) said that ROP was like a savior for her family. “The day the doctor informed me that Minh Phat was at risk of losing his sight due to premature birth, I cried my eyes out. Luckily, the doctor consulted and explained the treatment method in detail, so my family felt secure and trusted the doctor's regimen. After only one injection, the baby's vision was stable like other children, it was miraculous!”, Ms. Thuy Duong confided. Up to now, she regularly takes her child for check-ups according to the doctor's appointment for monitoring.

Doctor Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh examines a child being treated at the Center for Screening and Treatment of Retinopathy of Prematurity

The cost for a screening and treatment of ROP is about 5 million VND/time (intraocular injection), 4 million VND/time (laser surgery). Doctor Ngoc Anh said that if in the "golden time", the children only need 1 intraocular injection to respond. In case of late treatment, the cost of treatment can be up to 100 million VND/eye. The center's ROP treatment has spread strongly to many provinces and cities.

Currently, Children's Hospital 1 has introduced and transferred screening techniques to hospitals in provinces and cities such as Da Nang, Quang Nam, Binh Dinh, Dong Nai, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Can Tho, and Ca Mau. Up to now, Can Tho Children's Hospital has been able to treat pediatric patients. Particularly, at maternity hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City such as Hung Vuong Maternity Hospital and Tu Du Hospital, doctors from Children's Hospital 1 are present every week to provide professional support in ROP treatment.

With the coverage of screening techniques that doctors at Children's Hospital 1 have transferred, Dr. Ngoc Anh recommends that parents with premature children should get screened early so as not to affect the child's future.

With the achievements in recent times, the model of the Center for screening and treatment of retinopathy of prematurity at Children's Hospital 1 was highly appreciated and proposed for the 4th Ho Chi Minh City Innovation Award 2025 by the City Council.

ROP numbers from 2017-2024

The number of children screened for ROP increased sharply, from 9,732 children in 2017 to more than 18,000 children in 2024.

On average, nearly 400 children need treatment each year.

During the period 2017-2024, the ROP Center treated about 2,120 pediatric patients.

Reduce the social subsidy burden for disabled children by nearly 300 billion VND.

REVENUE

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/khong-de-tre-tho-mat-di-anh-sang-post795276.html