Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast)

This is an MRI of the eye sockets, face, or neck done twice — once before gadolinium contrast and again after. The comparison is the point: tissue that lights up only after the injection tells the radiologist something that neither set of images shows alone.

This explanation has not been reviewed by a person yet.

What it is

MRI uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves — no x-rays — to build images, and it is unusually good at separating one kind of soft tissue from another. That matters in the orbit, face, and neck, where nerves, muscles, glands, lymph nodes, and fat are packed closely together. This code is the version done in two passes: a full set of images before any contrast, then an injection of gadolinium into a vein, then a second set. Areas with increased blood supply or a leaky blood-brain barrier take up the contrast and brighten. Because the pre-contrast images are what the post-contrast images are read against, this study is longer and more expensive than an MRI done without contrast alone, which is a separate code.

Why it is done

To evaluate a mass or swelling in the eye socket, face, salivary glands, or neck, and to see how far it extends into surrounding tissue
To assess the optic nerve and the soft tissues immediately around the eye
To look for infection or inflammation spreading through deep spaces of the face and neck
To follow a known lesion after treatment, where enhancement patterns help distinguish active tissue from scar

What to expect

Metal is the main preparation. The scanner's magnet is always on, so you will be asked in detail about implanted devices, surgical clips, and metal fragments, and asked to remove jewelry and anything magnetic. You lie still on a table that slides into the bore, with a coil placed over the head or neck. The machine is loud — knocking and buzzing in bursts — and earplugs or headphones are provided. Staying still is the hard part; motion blurs the images and can force a repeat. Partway through, an IV line is used to give the gadolinium and the scanning resumes. Expect the whole appointment to run longer than a non-contrast study. People who are claustrophobic should raise it beforehand, since sedation has to be arranged in advance.

Questions worth asking

Is this the without-and-with-contrast version? It is a different, higher code than MRI without contrast, so confirm which one was ordered.
Is the gadolinium billed as a separate drug or supply line?
Is the scan being done in a hospital MRI suite or a freestanding imaging center? The same study is often priced very differently between the two.
If I need sedation to tolerate the scanner, who provides it and what does that add?

What Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) costs by state

Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Texas — 113 hospitals, median $3,345.40
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in California — 90 hospitals, median $3,796.00
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Florida — 80 hospitals, median $7,877.64
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Ohio — 55 hospitals, median $2,181.00
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Illinois — 51 hospitals, median $3,718.08
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Virginia — 43 hospitals, median $3,546.50
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Tennessee — 38 hospitals, median $833.58
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Wisconsin — 33 hospitals, median $2,934.36
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Washington — 32 hospitals, median $2,218.56
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Pennsylvania — 31 hospitals, median $2,854.80
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Iowa — 30 hospitals, median $3,576.30
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Michigan — 27 hospitals, median $3,520.00
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Indiana — 26 hospitals, median $899.00
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Georgia — 25 hospitals, median $2,184.00
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Kentucky — 24 hospitals, median $3,480.63
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Arizona — 22 hospitals, median $543.08
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in New Jersey — 22 hospitals, median $696.73
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in New York — 22 hospitals, median $422.61
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Missouri — 20 hospitals, median $2,311.65
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Minnesota — 19 hospitals, median $3,772.00
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Colorado — 17 hospitals, median $7,868.00
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in West Virginia — 17 hospitals, median $2,134.50
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Oklahoma — 16 hospitals, median $2,358.20
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in North Carolina — 15 hospitals, median $2,552.60
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Oregon — 13 hospitals, median $1,926.00
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Nebraska — 12 hospitals, median $2,497.00
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Kansas — 11 hospitals, median $5,400.04
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in South Carolina — 11 hospitals, median $2,530.50
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Mississippi — 10 hospitals, median $1,381.00
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Arkansas — 7 hospitals, median $1,730.52
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Maine — 7 hospitals, median $3,281.05
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in South Dakota — 7 hospitals, median $4,215.20
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in North Dakota — 4 hospitals, median $3,656.00
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Wyoming — 4 hospitals, median $3,035.52
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Alaska — 3 hospitals, median $5,525.52
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Nevada — 3 hospitals, median $1,734.28
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Hawaii — 2 hospitals, median $1,127.04
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Maryland — 2 hospitals, median $513.00
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Montana — 2 hospitals, median $2,200.80
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in New Mexico — 2 hospitals, median $1,925.70
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in Louisiana — 1 hospitals, median $785.72
Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost in New Hampshire — 1 hospitals, median $8,574.90

Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) prices at hospitals

See every published price for Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast): the full national range, the state and hospital breakdowns, and which hospitals charge the least.

Face, Eye Socket and Neck MRI (with and without contrast) cost — see all prices →

Sources

RadiologyInfo (RSNA/ACR): Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) - Head (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)
Wikipedia (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)

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