Blocked Tear Duct Treatment Cost

Typical costs:

• For patients covered by health insurance, out-of-pocket costs typically consist of doctor visit copays, prescription drug copays or coinsurance of 10%-50%. Treatment for a blocked tear duct typically is covered by insurance.
• For patients not covered by health insurance, an initial doctor visit to diagnose a blocked tear duct can cost from about $50 to almost $250 or more. Treatment can cost nothing for warm compresses and at-home massage. If there is an infection, it can cost $17-$170 or more for oral or topical antibiotics. It can cost $100 or more for dilation and irrigation of the tear duct in a doctor's office, but a similar procedure done in a hospital can cost almost $3,000 or more. And surgery to create a new tear duct using a shunt can cost up to $6,000 or more.
• For example, at Lakewood Family Eye Care[1] in Florida an eye exam for a medical problem starts at $55 for an established patient, or costs $74-$119 for a new patient. Macy Eye Center[2] in California charges $240 for an initial exam, after a 40% discount for uninsured patients.
• Drugstore.com charges about $25 for a tube of generic prescription erythromycin eye ointment. Drugstore.com charges about $17 for a bottle of the generic oral antibiotic cephalexin and about $175 for the brand-name equivalent, Keflex. It charges about $120 a bottle of the oral antibiotic Augmentin[3] .
• Lakewood Family Eye Care[4] in Florida charges $105 to dilate and irrigate the tear duct to remove blockage. Saint Elizabeth Regional Medical Center[5] in Nebraska charges about $2,700, not including the doctor fee, to probe and possibly irrigate the tear ducts.
• Baptist Memorial Health Care in Tennessee charges about $5,700, not including doctor fee, for surgery to create a tear sac drain using a shunt. Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children[6] in Hawaii charges about $6,000 for surgery for a blocked tear duct, but will reduce the amount to $3,600 for uninsured patients who pay in full within 30 days or $4,200 in 90 days.

• For infants with a congenital blocked tear duct, the doctor typically will recommend warm compresses and gentle at-home massage of the tear duct. The problem usually resolves in a few months.
• For adults with a blocked tear duct, treatment typically depends on the cause. If it the cause is an injury to the face, the problem might resolve after a few months without treatment. If there is an underlying eye infection, the doctor typically will prescribe antibiotic drops or ointment or, for a tear sac infection[7] , oral antibiotics.
• For infants with blockage that does not go away, or in adults with narrowed ducts due to aging, inflammation or scarring -- the doctor might use local anesthesia and special instruments to dilate and irrigate the tear duct.
• In some cases, outpatient surgery[8] is required. The patient is placed under local or general anesthesia and the surgeon then makes an incision and inserts a stent for drainage. Recovery takes about a week and, after several months, the doctor might remove the stent.
• The Mayo Clinic has an overview[9] of blocked tear duct treatment.

• After surgery, patients typically need to use a nasal decongestant and antibiotic-corticosteroid eye drops, which can cost about $30-$120, for a few weeks.

• Shriners Hospitals for Children[10] offer free specialized treatment for patients up to 18 years old based solely on need for services, not on family income.
• Many hospitals and doctors give discounts of up to 30% or more to uninsured/cash-paying patients. For example, Washington Hospital Healthcare System[11] in California offers a 35% discount.

• The American Academy of Ophthalmology provides an ophthalmologist locator[12] .
• If surgery is required, it typically would be performed by an ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgeon, a board-certified ophthalmologist who has completed a fellowship in ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgery. The American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery offers a surgeon locator[13] .
• Sutter Health offers a decision-making guide[14] for parents of babies with blocked tear ducts.

1.  /lakewoodeyes.com/
2.  www.macyeyecenter.com
3.  www.drugstore.com/augmentin/250-125mg-tablets/qxn00029607527
4.  /lakewoodeyes.com/
5.  tp.chi.acelogicus.net/nese/Default.aspx
6.  www.kapiolani.org/women-and-children/my-hospital-bill/uninsured-calculator.aspx
7.  www.stlukeseye.com/conditions/dacryocystitis.html
8.  www.asoprs.org/files/public/infodcr.pdf
9.  www.mayoclinic.com/health/blocked-tear-duct/DS01096/DSECTION=treatments%2Dand%2Ddrugs
10.  www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org/en/CareAndTreatment/ApplyForCare.aspx
11.  www.whhs.com/about/washington-hospital-discount-policy-for-uninsured/
12.  www.aao.org/aao/find_eyemd.cfm
13.  www.asoprs.org/custom/directory/?pageid=3657&showTitle=1
14.  www.sutterhealth.org/healthwise/index.cfm?A=C&type=info&popup=1&hwid=aa170043

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