Probing for Blocked Tear Duct

Hi M.,
My daughter, 17 months, has had goopy eyes since birth as well. When we consulted with the Dr. at 11 months, he also recommended surgery. My husband and I agreed with each other, that if it isn't causing her discomfort and it's not really necessary, we'll opt not to do the surgery. We just didn't feel comfortable with putting her under anesthesia.
We're still happy with our decision...one has completely cleared up on its own. The other isn't as bad as it was and appears the problem will resolve itself eventually.
lb

My little gal has the same problem, but she's only 11 weeks. Our pediatrician said it usually clears up by a year old. Hers is already getting better but every now and then it gets goopy as well. Our ped gave us eye drops to use when they do, they are called Ofloxacin. They seem to work. We use them until her eyes look back to normal plus one day. Good luck!

M.,
My Youngest son was born with one blocked tear duct. The pediatrician assured us it was not a big deal if we had to have the procedure but urged us to massage the area under his eye from the corner of the duct out as often as we could to try and eliviate the situation without the procedure.
I did this about 6 times a day, I think we were on the lucky end because the situation resolved itself. Even if its not goopy it can still be blocked, have you seen tears from that eye?
Good luck, follow your mommy instinct and never be afraid to get a second medical opinion
B.

My daughter had a dog bite to her face at 10mos, requiring surgery to her eye to repair her tear duct so that it didn't ooze the rest of her life (it was torn and had collapsed). It was a wonderful experience and the worst part of the surgery was not letting her eat anything for XX hours beforehand--something you won't have to deal with since it's not an emergency and they can do it first thing in the morning. I recommend getting a second opinion from an infant optholmologist. We went to Scott Olitsky at Childen's Mercy.

If you move forward with the surgery, please, please, please try to have the surgery at Children's Mercy, where they have deep expertise in general anethesia for infants.

Hi M.,

My oldest daughter had blocked tear ducts, and our doctor advised that we wait until she was at least a year old before considering surgery. He said that most of them (I'm thinking something like 80%, but this was years ago)clear up within the first year with treatment like massaging the tear duct. We kept massaging and cleaning her tear ducts out every morning, and she finally did end up having the surgery to clear it out when she was almost 2 years old. It was a simple surgery and it went well, but why put them through that if it isn't necessary?
If you think it is all cleared up and the surgery is unnecessary, then I would wait or get a second opinion from another doctor. I don't know of any reason why it should be done before the end of his 13th month other than it may fit the doctor's schedule better that way. My daughter was fine with us waiting until she was two, it was just the annoyance of having to clean off her eyes every morning so that she could see. In retrospect I probably wouldn't have waited that long for the surgery because it really is a simple procedure, but if you think it has gone away on its own I would wait to make sure it is still a problem before putting him through the surgery. I'm sure he'll be fine whatever you decide.

Good luck!
J.

My son had the same problem and his peditrician said wait until he is a year old. He gave us drops to put in each eye and said to massage it in, it was totally cleared by the time he was 1yr old. I would say from now until he turns one, you can always take warm compresses and massage his eye, unless you ask his pedi about some eye drops. I cant remember the name of the drops we used for our son.

M.,
Congratulations on your wedding anniversary!
As for your son and having this surgery. I would probably
trust your Doc. Just because his eye(s) are not gunky right
now does not mean it won't get that way again.
My youngest had this problem years ago and too, had this
surgery when he was about 1 as well. And he did great and
no more gunk!! It was great!! Because he had this pretty
much since birth. Don't be worried, kids are really resilent.
My son got up and started playing right after the surgery. I was rather surprised. But he did great!!
It probably would be better if he would go ahead and have it now versus later. This way he and you can enjoy Christmas.
My best to you! Hope it goes well and Have a great anniversary and Christmas!

We dealt with goopy eyes until my son was just over a year and finally had stints put in both tear ducts and it has been wonderful! Has your son recently been on antibiotics? Anytime our son was on an antibiotic, we thought the ducts had opened up and fixed themselves because the goop went away. In reality, the medicine cleared up the infection but the problem persisted. Does your son still have tears streaming down his face? If so, they are still blocked and if they haven't "unblocked" on their own by the time they are about a year, chances are they won't at all. The procedure is very minor, we went home about 2 hours afterwards. He was kind of irritable for the day but was fine the next and went right back to the babysitter. Our son had the procedure done in September and one of the stints actually fell out last weekend (he has a cold and has been sneezing and coughing) but as long as the goopiness doesn't return, it won't need to be put back in. Although my view on what constitutes a "major medical procedure" is somewhat skewed since we've been through a couple of heart surgeries, I definitely wouldn't call this major. Trust me, it is great not having to wipe green goo from your beautiful baby's eyes non stop!

I take care of children having this surgery all the time. Make sure you go to Eye surgeon who specializes in children and have surgery where the anesthesiologists take care of a lot of babies. That said the surgery and GA usually goes very well.

My daughter had the same thing (mainly in one eye). We met with the doctor and made an appointment for surgery. Because we were told the sooner the better. But after making the appointment, I found a lot of conflicting info. One doctor (online) said waiting until they are at least 15 months old. She got sick right before the surgery (ear infection), so we called and canceled. Then her eye cleared up, so we never rescheduled. She will turn 2 on Saturday. When she gets a cold, her eye gets a little goopy, but not bad. So I'm glad we didn't have the surgery. I did get a little more proactive with rubbing her tear duct area to clear the blockage.

My daughter had this done around 9 months old she wasn't getting the goopy stuff anymore but was getting infections in her eye caused form the clogging. It was very nerve racking before the procedure but if I had to do it again I prbably would be more relaxed it isn't nothing like what you are expecting. It took 10 minutes and she never cried. It really was worth it if you compare it to any complications that can come in the future. Good Luck.

My little guy had the same issue since birth. We were referred to a doctor at Children's Mercy and she suggested that we go ahead with the probing procedure...but my son's eye was still goopy at that time. He was about 11.5 months at the initial appointment, but he had the procedure done right around 13 months. When he had it done, we would squeeze his eye once or twice a day and get the goop out!

The procedure actually wasn't bad. It was awful leaving my son with complete strangers, but from the time the nurses took him until we were in recovery with him was less than an hour. He looked miserable when we first got back with him, but by the time we got in the car he was asking for crackers and by the time we got home he was back to normal. His eye never gooped again and he had no reactions to the surgery.

I am glad that we went through the surgery because the doctor told us that you really can't tell how bad it is until you get in there, and my son's was bad enough that it wouldn't have cleared up on its own and he even needed to have a stint put in to help it stay open which they took out 3 months later. So for us it was a good thing. I think that you need to do what you feel comfortable with. I definitely didn't look forward to the procedure and I was a nervous wreck the whole time, but I feel that my son benefited greatly from the procedure because now he doesn't have to deal with a goopy eye!

Good luck in your decision! Best Wishes

Hey M.!

My daughter had to have her duct probed at 8 months. Her eye had also slowed down on the goopiness, but our doc said that it could start up again, and this would be the best way to take care of it permanently. Literally, it took less than 5 minutes. The doc actually beat us back to the waiting room once we got her to the OR! The anesthesia is just a mask with gas. No IV's. No breathing tube. By the time she blew off the gas, she was perfectly fine. Her eye was not tearing or irritated. If your doc recommends this, I would certainly go ahead. If you are still concerned, you can get a second opinion. Good luck!

I'll go ahead and post. (I debated) I haven't seen anyone write about massage. I have 2 (out of 5) children who've had a blocked duct. Our doctor showed me how to massage it - I did this several times a day (easy to remember, as you are picking or wiping stuff out several times:)) Anyway, we've never had an infection, never had drops and the older one (5) definately has no problems and the baby (2 months) has a rare runny eye but is well on her way. Medication and surgery may not really be the answer.

My daughter had the surgery done when she was about 6mos old. I was nervous so I understand where you are coming from. It is a very simple procedure. If your child is still having problems on occassions and you have tried the ointment(works better than drops), I personally would go ahead with the procedure. I wouldn't wait too long. I think the earlier the better. If you can avoid them remembering having it done, do it. Talk it over with your hubby and the doctor and get their input if they think waiting is okay or if he needs it at all. My daughter was completely fine after the procedure. Your son will be too if you go that route. Good Luck and Happy Thanksgiving!

M. my second girl had the same issue and our doc said that it would clear up by the time she turned one. He also suggested that we wait until then to make the decision about surgery. Her eyes cleared up on their own and we have not had any problems since. She will be 3 in march and is very healthy. I would say wait and see no since doing surgery if it is not needed.
Best of luck and Happy Thanksgiving
C.

My husband had this done when he was a baby. His mom told me he would cry, but there would be no tears. He is fine now...only 41 years later! haha Seriously though, I know it seems scary, but it is probably something your doctor feels is necessary. If you are still concerned, you can always get a second opinion.

I wish you luck!

I am a RN who has assisted in this procedure before, and I can assure you that these procedures are very quick and helpful to kids who have this chronic condition. You can always wait if you want but the probing and irrigation will clear out any blockage and since the procdure is under anesthesia the eye DR can better assess the condition.

Our daughter had the same thing and it cleared up right around the time for surgery. We still got it because they said it might come back and cause more trouble later in life. We were in at 6:30 am and out by 9:30am and that included recovery. It worked great for our daughter. If you have any questions you can always get a second opinion. It is up to you to make sure your son gets the best out of life