Pterygium Surgery Cost

How is a price set for pterygium surgery?

Patients ask me what the price for pterygium surgery is? How is the cost of pterygium surgery determined? And how is a price set for pterygium surgery. The price is built according to several main factors: the operating-room fee, the surgeon's fee, the surgical method and the type of private medical insurance. The operating-room fee and the surgeon's fee vary according to the surgical method and the surgeon's experience — performing surgery with a conjunctival autograft and the use of glue is usually at the higher end. Fibrin glue, when needed, also adds to the cost. If you have private medical insurance, it is likely that it will cover most of the costs, but it may not cover the cost of the fibrin glue. For an exact, up-to-date quote, please contact us.

What is pterygium? What causes pterygium?

Pterygium is a benign growth of fleshy tissue that grows from the conjunctiva of the eye. Without treatment, this condition may slowly, over time, change the shape of the cornea and cause loss of vision. Nevertheless, in most cases it is more likely that the pterygium tissue will in that time cause a red spot on the eye and discomfort or pain, and therefore many people want to remove it. The risk of pterygium growth rises as exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UV) rises, from being outdoors under the sun or from frequent use of tanning beds. Pterygia usually develop in people aged 30 to 50, but can appear in younger or older people.

Is pterygium surgery expensive or cheap – what is the cost of pterygium surgery?

Pterygium surgery is in the vast majority of cases successful, and healing occurs quickly, so most of those who have undergone pterygium surgery are satisfied with the result. No matter how well the surgery goes, there is a risk of recurrence of another pterygium.

The price of pterygium surgery may not be very cheap despite the short time it takes and its relative simplicity, this is because it is often a cosmetic and elective surgery and accordingly can be uncovered by the health fund. Many people suffer from a sensation of discomfort in the eye and from the reddish spot on it, and therefore many of them will turn to elective surgery. There are several options that can affect the total price of pterygium surgery, among them the surgical technique and the choice of whether to secure the conjunctival graft with expensive fibrin glue or with sutures.

What is the chance of pterygium recurrence after surgery?

It should be noted that recurrence of this condition is not a rare event, and therefore you may not want to remove the pterygium until there is a real need for it. As long as the pterygium remains in the periphery of your cornea, and there is no evidence of severe symptoms such as pain or persistent scratching irritation (a foreign-body sensation in the eye), an ophthalmologist is unlikely to recommend surgical removal. Therefore the surgery will be considered an elective aesthetic surgery, including the resulting implications for the price. The price of pterygium surgery can be high, depending on the health fund's participation, the severity of your condition, the surgical technique and the surgeon's skill level.

Is there laser pterygium removal? Higher pterygium surgery price?

Although laser-based surgery helps improve many different eye diseases and conditions, there is no option in Israel to perform laser pterygium removal. This is a procedure that requires mechanical removal of tissue, which is usually replaced with a graft of your conjunctival tissue from another part of the same eye or from the other eye.

What methods for pterygium removal exist? Does the cost of pterygium surgery depend on it?

There are several options for pterygium surgery:

Sutures versus glue: the pterygium is removed in surgery, but requires completion of the conjunctival tissue with a graft. This tissue graft is attached in place with sutures or fibrin glue. Most versions of pterygium surgery use sutures. These are tiny surgical sutures that dissolve or will be removed a week to two weeks after the surgery. Fibrin glue is the equivalent of surgical glue, which, unlike sutures, dissolves in parallel with your eye's natural healing process. This glue has been shown to reduce inflammation and discomfort, and sometimes even shortens the recovery time by up to about half. Often, what prevents the use of fibrin glue is its high price, and therefore people often choose to use sutures despite its many advantages.

Bare sclera: it is preferable to replace the conjunctiva that was removed from the sclera with other tissue, but in certain cases, your surgeon may choose not to add this tissue. The problem with this method, and therefore we do not recommend it, is a very high chance of recurrence (up to 50%). Not using a conjunctival graft and leaving the sclera bare increases the risk of renewed growth of pterygium, so this is not considered the best option for lowering the price.