Children's Ophthalmology Department of the Provincial Specialist Children's Hospital of prof dr. Stanisław Popowski in Olsztyn has joined the register of facilities treating retinopathy of premature babies from all over Europe - informs TVP Olsztyn. This places the clinic among the EU elite in terms of the standard of treatment and access to international analyzes and modern therapies. There are only four Polish hospitals in the register.

Doctors from Olsztyn will share their experience with specialists from all over the European Union.

- We have to compare ourselves with other centers to know if we treat better or worse, and also to assess the quality of life and the effects of treatment - says Dr. Krystyna Piskorz-Ogórek, MD, in an interview for the Olsztyn regional branch of Telewizja Polska , director of the Children's Hospital in Olsztyn.

The presence in the register also confirms that the department has modern equipment and top-class specialists.

- Registration requires appropriate equipment, qualified personnel and the approval of the Bioethics Committee. We have all of this - emphasizes in an interview with the Polish Radio Olsztyn Dr. Maria Szwajkowska, MD, coordinator of the Department of Head and Neck Surgery for Children and Youth in the field of Ophthalmology.

Preterm retinopathy occurs in about 15% of children. premature babies and is the leading cause of blindness in children. Ophthalmological screening is performed on newborns born before 36 weeks of gestation with a birth weight of less than 2.5 kg at 4, 8 and 12 weeks of age.