blocked tear duct

I'm not sure if this is the right forum, but it seems like as good a place as any for this. I am really just posting this as an FYI for anyone who may search for information on blocked tear ducts.

My DD had a blocked tear duct in her left eye since she was born. Several of the pediatricians at our practice told us to wait until she was 9 months old and if it didn't open on it's own by then, they would send us to a pediatric ophthalmologist. DD is seven months old now and after talking with a friend who is an optomotrist, I called the only pediatric ophthlamologist in my town who will do a procedure to open a blocked tear duct in the office without general anesthesia/ surgery. We went last Friday and the ophthalmoligst examined her eyes, confirmed the blockage, and told us that DD was a candidate for the in-office procedure. He gave us some stats, but apparently this works best around 6-7 months old and once children hit about 9 months or so old, it is more likely that they will require surgery. We went ahead and had him do the procedure that day and it worked really well.

DD was only away from us in another room for a couple of minutes. She did have to be strapped to a papoose board to keep her immobile during the procedure, but we could hear her cry for just a few seconds and then it was over. The doc used numbing drops and I think DD was more irritated about being strapped down than about the actual probe in her tear duct. She wasn't even fussy at all when the doc brought her back to us just a minute after he was done. We gave her eye drops (one drop, three times each day) for a week that were a combination of antibiotic and steroid to help it from getting inflamed and closing again. DD's eye did not swell or bruise at all and she has not had any discharge from her eye since the doctor did the procedure a week ago. DH and I are very happy that we had it done.

I just thought I would share this information for anyone who searches for information on blocked tear ducts. If your insurance will cover it, I recommend checking with a pediatric ophthalmologist sooner than 9 months, preferably closer to 6 or 7 months. Just my two cents. HTH someone!

Jerilyn
DS, Sean 10/03
DD, Katie 3/06

"Baby makes days shorter, nights longer, home happier, and love stronger."

Thank you for posting this- my ped as well as my opthamologist both said wait until after 12 months simply b/c of the likelihood of the duct opening up before surgery needed. BUT I would have rather gone a non-surgical method at 6-7 months instead of waiting it out.

I waited the 12 months, then saw the pediatric opthamologist who said he needed surgery. Apparently, the likelihood of the duct opening after 12 months of age gets slimmer and slimmer, and the window of opportunity for the surgery is really 1-2 yrs of age for a successful opening.

WE were told that the scheduler would call us the next week....would you believe in the week in between, the duct opened up??? A true stroke of luck!

Thanks for sharing your info- I wish I had known, I would have been in at 6 months ending what was truly a bothersome issue for DS!

I'm glad that your son was able to avoid surgery too. I don't know about you, but it took me a few days to get used to not wiping goop from the corner of DD's eye. :)