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Cost of tear duct drainage tract surgery in Tennessee

The average cash price for tear duct drainage tract surgery care in Tennessee is $3,284 at a surgery center versus $5,336 at an outpatient hospital. While a surgery center may offer fewer complimentary services, and may not have the full range of support services that outpatient hospital provides, it may still be worth the (38%) you'd save when comparing the cost of tear duct drainage tract surgery performed at an outpatient hospital. Read More

Average cash price in Tennessee

A common tear duct drainage tract surgery at surgery center facility in Tennessee includes

  Units Avg Cash price

Provider

Ophthalmologist visit provider fee

First-time visit Standard
1 $108

Provider fee to create tear drainage tract to the nasal cavity

Also insert tube or stent Standard
1 $970

Facility

Surgery center fee to create tear drainage tract to the nasal cavity

Standard Standard
1 $1,571

Prescriptions

HYDROCODONE-ACETAMINOPHEN

Standard Standard
30 $15

Anesthesia

Anesthesiologist fee to be "put under" for procedure

Level 3 Standard
1 $187

Anesthesiologist time to be "put under" for procedure

Per minute Standard
234 $434
Total average cash price   $3,283.54

A common tear duct drainage tract surgery at outpatient hospital facility in Tennessee includes

  Units Avg Cash price

Provider

Ophthalmologist visit provider fee

First-time visit Standard
1 $108

Provider fee to create tear drainage tract to the nasal cavity

Also insert tube or stent Standard
1 $970

Facility

Outpatient Hospital fee to create tear drainage tract to the nasal cavity

level 4 Standard
1 $3,623

Prescriptions

HYDROCODONE-ACETAMINOPHEN

Standard Standard
30 $15

Anesthesia

Anesthesiologist fee to be "put under" for procedure

Level 3 Standard
1 $187

Anesthesiologist time to be "put under" for procedure

Per minute Standard
234 $434
Total average cash price   $5,335.70

Tear duct drainage tract surgery creates a new drain between your nose and your eyes. This drain collects and removes the tear liquid that bathes and cleans your eyes. When the tear duct is blocked, it creates excess eye discharge and can become infected. Surgery is required to treat the infection and get tears flowing the right way again. 

Often, your doctor doesn’t know why your tear duct drainage tract got blocked. Known causes of blocked tear ducts include anatomical issues at birth, tumors, nasal polyps, chronic nasal infections, and conjunctivitis. 

A small cut is made on your eyelid between your eye and nose during tear duct drainage tract surgery. The surgeon makes a small hole in the bone between your eye and nose to create a new drain. Occasionally, a small tube is placed into the hole to make sure the drain stays open. Some surgeons can avoid cutting your face by using a tube inserted into your nasal cavity.

You should not experience pain during tear duct drainage surgery. Your doctor can give you numbing medication to ensure you don’t feel the cuts needed during the procedure. Sometimes, an anesthesiologist puts you under sedation during the surgery.

After the procedure, you may have some soreness around your eye and nose. This can be treated with over-the-counter pain medications.

Tear duct surgery, or dacryocystorhinostomy, is a short operation that takes about 30 minutes. Most patients can go home the same day as the procedure. However, the underlying cause of your tear duct blockage may affect the length of the surgery. You can check the cost of tear duct surgery before you go to your doctor’s office.

Tear duct surgery is necessary when other treatment options haven’t worked to open up your tear duct. You can try a massage or warm compresses to open the tear duct, or your doctor may use special tools to probe your tear duct and open the passage with a balloon. If your tear duct is infected, antibiotics can help to open it up again.

Many patients with blocked tear ducts don’t need a procedure to open up their ducts. Watching and waiting can work to open up a blocked tear duct. However, if your tear duct doesn’t open on its own, it can become infected. You may have significant pain or suffer from poor vision due to a chronically blocked tear duct. If you’re worried about the cost of medical procedures, customized health insurance can help save you money.

Recovery from dacryocystorhinostomy takes about a week. For the first two days after your surgery, you should keep ice on the area to reduce swelling. After a week, your doctor can remove the stitches, and you can resume normal activities. If your tear duct was infected, you would need to finish your prescription of antibiotics to make sure the infection doesn’t come back.

After DCR surgery, you shouldn’t drive yourself home. Have a friend or family member take you since your vision might be impaired. You should avoid blowing your nose for a couple of weeks to prevent bleeding. For the first few nights after surgery, you should sleep with your head elevated to reduce swelling and help with draining the fluid from your new tear duct.

About the tear duct drainage tract surgery Average Cash Prices

This procedure is most commonly performed at either a surgery center or an outpatient hospital.

Surgery centers, also known as ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), are independent, licensed medical facilities that are governed by distinct regulatory requirements compared with a hospital. Procedures performed at an ASCs are often less expensive than when they are performed at an outpatient hospital, but they typically offer fewer complimentary services, and may not have the full-range of support services that a hospital provides.

Outpatient facilities are outpatient departments or clinics that may be within or next to a hospital, but is owned and run by the affiliated hospital. These facilities can perform surgical treatments and procedures that do not require an overnight stay. Procedures performed at an outpatient hospital are often more expensive than when they are performed in an ambulatory surgery center, but outpatient hospitals may offer more complimentary and support services for patients because they are connected to the hospital system.

* Savings estimate based on a study of more than 1 billion claims comparing self-pay (or cash pay) prices of a frequency-weighted market basket of procedures to insurer-negotiated rates for the same. Claims were collected between July 2017 and July 2019. R.Lawrence Van Horn, Arthur Laffer, Robert L.Metcalf. 2019. The Transformative Potential for Price Transparency in Healthcare: Benefits for Consumers and Providers. Health Management Policy and Innovation, Volume 4, Issue 3.

Sidecar Health offers and administers a variety of plans including ACA compliant and excepted benefit plans. Coverage and plan options may vary or may not be available in all states.

Your actual costs may be higher or lower than these cost estimates. Check with your provider and health plan details to confirm the costs that you may be charged for a service or procedure.You are responsible for costs that are not covered and for getting any pre-authorizations or referrals required by your health plan. Neither payments nor benefits are guaranteed. Provider data, including price data, provided in part by Turquoise Health.

The site is not a substitute for medical or healthcare advice and does not serve as a recommendation for a particular provider or type of medical or healthcare.