Tear duct flushing

Why would this usually be done?

1-To check that the duct is draining

2- To remove impacted pus

Glad someone else started this thread As Rusty is on eye ointment twice a day till next Weds.....

Then next Weds he has an appt to have his tear ducts flushed...

Does anyone have an approx cost of this?

No idea about cost, but would be interested to know.

What happens during the tear duct flushing?

Just heard it mentioned a few times lately and would like to get some info about it.

I paid about £70 for this done but he had anti biotics injected into is tear duct too so that might have upped the price X

It is £10 per eye for a conscious flush at our vets :wave:

Thanks for letting me know the price.

Would swabs normally be taken first, to find if it is an infection causing the watery eye? Or is it easy to tell some other way that it is a problem with the tear ducts rather than say elongated tooth roots?

weedug said:

Thanks for letting me know the price.

Would swabs normally be taken first, to find if it is an infection causing the watery eye? Or is it easy to tell some other way that it is a problem with the tear ducts rather than say elongated tooth roots?

Click to expand...

A culture I believe can be taken from the flushings themselves for c+s testing, I understand this can be quite a reliable clincial diagnostic.

I have no experience of nasolacrimal duct flushings but had always assumed it would be less stressful carried out under sedation or GA? But I could be wrong and I expect it largely depends on bunny and their overall state of health and suitability for sedation/GA which of course isn't always appropriate for every rabbit.

ETA Oh as for procedure, I would assume a tiny catheter is inserted into the duct from the eye down into the nasal space and then saline perhaps is flushed through.... just guessing though. Would be very interested to hear any details on the procedure also from other members with experience. :wave:

Thanks :wave:

One more question. Can one or a few flushings sort the problem, or can the bun need flushings for the rest ot it's life?

Might be hard to answer I know, since it's not asked about a particular bun.

My vet said that generally if a tear duct needs flushing, that tooth root/s is/are the culprit.

I have Star, who is three and a half, at two he needed a tear duct flush after months of a runny eye that we couldn't shift. He has one elongated tooth root, yet no spurs, but that tooth root was irritating the tear duct.

My vet often talks about flushing his eye because the tear duct was completely blocked (he describes it the same way PL explains it) and he talks about trying to flush it normally, and trying again, etc, and then with one last effort they tryied and a thick, solid white 'worm like' strand came shooting out his nose :lol: I think that fascinated my vet. He's never needed one since, nor a dental at any point so far, but his diet is super strict.

The regularity with how often a bunny needs it depends on the severity an type of the problem. There is a risk of scar tissue and then blocking off the tear duct with that, I believe, so there is no chance then of flushing it.

prettylupin said:

A culture I believe can be taken from the flushings themselves for c+s testing, I understand this can be quite a reliable clincial diagnostic.

I have no experience of nasolacrimal duct flushings but had always assumed it would be less stressful carried out under sedation or GA? But I could be wrong and I expect it largely depends on bunny and their overall state of health and suitability for sedation/GA which of course isn't always appropriate for every rabbit.

ETA Oh as for procedure, I would assume a tiny catheter is inserted into the duct from the eye down into the nasal space and then saline perhaps is flushed through.... just guessing though. Would be very interested to hear any details on the procedure also from other members with experience. :wave:

Click to expand...

Yep, pretty much. Santa had them occasionally; she was never a very cooperative patient conscious, but because she needed regular dentals it was fairly easy to have the ducts flushed while she was under GA anyway. My vet did try to do it conscious once, and says she can easily do it conscious on some buns, but Santa wasn't having any of it and as she was tiny, there was too much risk of causing damage, so it does really depend on individual circumstance. C&S and cytology if required can be sent straight from the flushings, I've done that before Much better than using a swab as it gets all the stuff from deep inside.

As to whether it will be a one-off or will need repeats, I'm afraid the answer really is 'it depends'. It depends on whether there is a chronic cause (such as tooth roots irritating the tear ducts) or whether it's just an unfortunate infection which may clear. Sometimes they can get so scarred (including from repeated flushing itself!) that they block permanently in which case long term antibiotics might be needed. Some people find that simply bonding the bun can keep the problem in check because the other bun grooms the eyes and keeps the goo cleared away.

Good luck x

:wave: Thanks for all the info.

At least I know what it is now