Sinus CT scan (without contrast)

A CT of the air-filled spaces in the bones of the face, done without dye — which is how sinus CT is normally done. It shows whether those spaces are blocked or full of fluid, something an examination in the office cannot settle, and it is the study an ENT surgeon works from before operating.

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What it is

The paranasal sinuses are hollow pockets inside the bones around the nose and eyes, connected to the nasal cavity by narrow drainage channels. When they work, they are full of air and invisible on any test. When they do not, the channels swell shut and the pockets fill. CT is the imaging that shows this reliably, because it renders thin bone and air spaces at the same time and can be rebuilt into views along any plane. Contrast is not routinely part of a sinus CT — the diagnosis rests on the shape of the bone and what is filling the space, neither of which needs dye.

Why it is done

To confirm sinusitis and see which sinuses are involved, particularly when symptoms have not settled with treatment or keep coming back
To map the anatomy before sinus surgery, including the drainage pathways a surgeon will be working through and how close they run to the eye and the base of the skull
To look for a growth, a polyp or a mass in the sinuses or the nasal cavity
To assess the facial bones after an injury

What to expect

The scan is short and painless. Patients lie on the table, sometimes with the head tipped, and are asked to keep still and not swallow during the acquisition. Glasses, earrings, hairpins and removable dental work come off. Nothing is injected, there is no preparation and no recovery — people go straight back to their day. Many surgeons want the scan done at a point when treatment has already been tried, so that what they see is the sinus in its usual state rather than at the peak of an acute infection.

Questions worth asking

Some ENT offices have their own small cone-beam scanner and some send patients to hospital radiology. What is the price at each, and is the type of scanner right for what my surgeon needs?
If the scan is being done to plan surgery with image guidance, does that navigation protocol cost more than a standard sinus CT here?
Will there be a separate radiologist's charge, or is my ENT reading the scan themselves as part of the visit?
My insurer may want evidence that medical treatment was tried first. Has that documentation been sent, so the scan is not denied after the fact?

What Sinus CT scan (without contrast) costs by state

Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Texas — 113 hospitals, median $1,666.95
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in California — 90 hospitals, median $2,184.00
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Florida — 68 hospitals, median $3,181.10
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Ohio — 68 hospitals, median $1,055.40
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Illinois — 51 hospitals, median $1,816.56
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Virginia — 43 hospitals, median $1,359.50
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Tennessee — 38 hospitals, median $531.75
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Pennsylvania — 33 hospitals, median $796.80
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Wisconsin — 33 hospitals, median $1,366.75
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Washington — 32 hospitals, median $1,011.92
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Iowa — 31 hospitals, median $1,326.36
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Michigan — 27 hospitals, median $1,151.00
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Indiana — 26 hospitals, median $542.40
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Kentucky — 26 hospitals, median $1,595.40
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Georgia — 25 hospitals, median $1,319.37
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Arizona — 23 hospitals, median $269.57
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in New York — 23 hospitals, median $125.84
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Missouri — 21 hospitals, median $883.30
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in New Jersey — 21 hospitals, median $421.18
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Minnesota — 19 hospitals, median $1,824.98
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Colorado — 17 hospitals, median $4,595.21
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Oklahoma — 17 hospitals, median $1,287.65
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in West Virginia — 17 hospitals, median $698.50
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in North Carolina — 15 hospitals, median $1,145.38
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Nebraska — 13 hospitals, median $1,094.50
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Oregon — 13 hospitals, median $671.25
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Arkansas — 11 hospitals, median $1,017.90
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Kansas — 11 hospitals, median $4,854.76
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Mississippi — 11 hospitals, median $666.90
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in South Carolina — 11 hospitals, median $1,268.40
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Maine — 7 hospitals, median $1,382.10
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in South Dakota — 7 hospitals, median $1,952.00
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Alaska — 5 hospitals, median $2,056.86
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Nevada — 4 hospitals, median $1,584.65
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in North Dakota — 4 hospitals, median $1,153.60
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Wyoming — 4 hospitals, median $1,476.06
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Hawaii — 2 hospitals, median $503.68
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Maryland — 2 hospitals, median $80.40
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Montana — 2 hospitals, median $799.20
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in New Mexico — 2 hospitals, median $1,797.18
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in Louisiana — 1 hospitals, median $249.86
Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost in New Hampshire — 1 hospitals, median $1,728.30

Sinus CT scan (without contrast) prices at hospitals

See every published price for Sinus CT scan (without contrast): the full national range, the state and hospital breakdowns, and which hospitals charge the least.

Sinus CT scan (without contrast) cost — see all prices →

Sources

RadiologyInfo (RSNA and ACR): CT of the Sinuses (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)
MedlinePlus: Head CT scan (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)
Wikipedia (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)

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