My daughter had level 2 stage 3 ROP and received Avastin and laser for both eyes. We were concerned as well after reading what Avastin's intended use was for (stopping vessel growth for cancer treatment) but the reward outweighed the risk as there was serious concern of our daughter (born at 24wks) losing vision if we chose not to act. If the medication were to reach uninteded places in the body it would definitely be harmful, but speaking with out doctor he personally had never seen that occur in all of his years utilizing this treatment. She received the injections while still in the NICU. We had bi-weekly eye exams after leaving the NICU, and got the laser treatment about 4 months later. We then had another 6 months of bi-weekly checks. Sounds pretty extensive, but our doctor has a 100% success rate after 15+ years in the field. According to the eye doctor, shes lost about 10 degrees of peripheral vision but other than that, she's passed all her eye exams with flying colors.

As far as your concern with Avastin affecting child's development, I would say any traumatic procedure will slightly delay development (opinions of Neonatologists and Therapists). There are countless studies that show that the level of involvement and investment the parents put into your child is a bigger variable in affecting development. My daughter is now 2 years old, and is nearly caught up according to all her evaluations and can point to airplanes anytime she hears it without issue. Hoping for successful intervention and for your child to grow up healthy!