Plugs falling out

[fundryeyes]

I had Sharp Point plugs installed on my lowers a couple of weeks ago. One has already fallen out. Is it just me or does this seem ridiculous, expensive and not sustainable ? I called my opt. and she will see me soon. I asked her if there was some kind of warranty and she could not give me a straight answer. These are $ 125 each. What a racket for a tiny silicone plug. I guess I have to consider getting cauterized. I can't afford paying for these things every month. Of all the things I've had to deal with, this is the most troubling. What are these companies thinking about ? These are not even covered by insurance, at least not mine.

[Nanerpus]

I just got my first plug installed, it was $340! I'm going next week to have the other put in in my other eye, so that's another $340. It's a lower plug, I'm not sure what brand. I will be so upset if it falls out, as it's helping, and also was sooo expensive!

[PRK]

Yeah I’ve already had .2mm collagen plugs and .4mm duraplugs neither lasted for more than 30 minutes but that was because they were all the lasik place had and my doc thinks my tear ducts are closer to .7mm. Lucky all of this was covered in the surgery price. Anyways there are three main factors when it comes to a successful punctal plug, the doctor, the plug and your punctum. You need a doctor that correctly measures your punctum, doesn’t over dilate your punctum so the plug won’t fit right and that correctly positions the plug so it’s all the way in and not slightly raised from the surface. The plug itself comes in many different shapes, sizes and hardness. Then depending on the shape and size of your punctum some plugs will work better than others.

In your case maybe Odyssey’s Parasol plug might be worth a shot since they come with a 30 day pop out guarantee and supposedly have a 92% retention rate.

http://odysseymed.com/phys/products.php

Oh and don’t get me wrong punctal plugs are ridiculously expensive. In my opinion you should be able to pick these things up at Walgreens for $14.95 and pop them in yourself but then they wouldn’t be able to make a 30,000% profit on a .0050 gram piece of silicon.

-Mike

[fundryeyes]

30 days warranty is a little silly. How about a lifetime pop out warranty ? I'd do all four even if it was $ $ 500 each. As long as they are guaranteed to stay in there and I don't have to burn my puncta closed.

[indrep]

The Medicare rate of reimbursement for Punctal Occlusion is $141. If two puncta are occluded on the same visit then the second puncta is paid at 50%. So a visit to a participating eye care provider for two puncta occluded would pay the doctor approximately $212.00. This would include the office visit and 10 days of global care. There is no reimbursement for the cost of the plugs to practice.

Private pay of course varies wildly.