Hidden Costs and Unexpected Costs of Cranial Cruciate Ligament Repair in Dogs
These costs aren’t necessarily “hidden” costs per-se, but they are definitely costs that you will incur that aren’t always talked about and mentioned when reading about the cost of a TPLO surgery in dogs, or the cost of a TTA surgery in dogs.
Cost of X-Rays
Prior to determining the type of surgery that should be performed, an x-ray is needed to determine the angle of the stifle joint. Since the angle of the stifle (knee) joint plays a role in the type of surgery available, it is an importatant step in CCL repair. My wife and I spent the number on the high range because we rushed our dog to the doggie emergency room on a Sunday evening, I’m assuming an x-ray can be done for much less.
Unexpected Cost of CCL Repair #1 - X-Rays - $100-$500
Cost of Medications
After surgery, you’ll be giving your dog heavy doses of pain killers, and depending on the activity level of your dog, you may be giving it some sort of sedatives as well. We didn’t use the entire prescription of pain killers, but we did have to renew the prescription for sedatives because our dog didn’t seem to think anything was wrong with her.
Unexpected Cost of CCL Repair #2 - Medication - $150-$350
Cost of Follow-Up Visits
I should have expected this one, but for some reason, I overlooked it. The day we left the veterinary clinic, we rescheduled for the following week. We had about 5 follow up visits in the next 2 months, and not only were we paying for each visit, but we were also being upsold on joint health medications, arthritis medications, weight management diets, joint health diets, and just about everything else that you can think of. We just spent $2,700 on surgery, now we’re being nickle and dimed for all sorts of other stuff? Really not necessary, but don’t be surprised if it happens to you too!
Unexpected Cost of CCL Repair #3 - Follow-Up Visits - $200-$500
From start to finish, you can expect to be 2-3 thousand dollars in when all is said and done, but you can keep this amount much smaller if you do your research and go through the entire rehab process on your own.
July 3rd, 2008 at 3:20 am
This happened to our dog, and you are exactly right… there are so many “extra” costs that you don’t even think about. When they tell you that the surgery is going to be $2,700.00 - that is ONLY for the surgery… there are plenty of other things they charge you for too:
waste disposal
lab fees
anesthesia
medications
x-rays
the list goes on…
July 7th, 2008 at 11:00 am
I was originally told the surgery would cost $1800 to $2000 (she told me $2000 would be the most expensive) as to not surprise me. When i went in to pick up my pet the bill was over 2800. I was shocked, they didn’t even phone me or let me know before i was to pick him up. Then after the surgery he needed K laser to help speed healing, for approx 4 min of laser it cost $78.75, per session. He apparently had 3 already which was included in the 2800, but he needed another 3. All i could think was i love my pet but this is ridiculous. Then after about 10 days he started limping again and not using his leg, i have read about setbacks and am hoping this is what is wrong because we cannot afford another surgery. This is stressful i would imagine on the animal but it is very stressful on the individual.
July 13th, 2008 at 4:26 am
My 2 year old English Bull terrier is a lover not a fighter and 30 seconds after entering the dog park in Coogee Australia yesterday a german shepard named Max ran up and attacked him. Not once but twice in the space of 5 minutes. My daughter and I immediately left the dog park after the attacks and noticed he had difficulty getting into the car. It wasn’t until this morning when he failed to get up for breakfast we realised something was seriously wrong. The vet now informs us he has a torn crutiate ligament in his leg and has kept him in overnight and proposes to do X-rays tomorrow morning and then surgery to repair. I am concerned now that I have read the post re crutiate ligaments not showing up on X-rays and wonder what to do next. Any suggestions readers?
July 25th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
The X-Rays are a must because they need to check for broken bones or more serious damage. It’s true that ligaments don’t show up on X-rays, but the veterinarian will most likely do a “drawer test” while your dog is sedated for x-rays in order to test the stability of the knee/stifle joint.
Best of luck.
October 4th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
actually, we (the veterinarian) are not looking for ligaments on a x-ray (actually called radiographs). we are looking for movement of the fat pad within the joint capsule and signs of secondary degenerative disease within the joint. All suspious signs of a cruciate ligament tear. And yes, most times, if the client has waited long enough to bring in their pets, you can see calcification of the torn ligament on a radiograph. It is important to note that obesity is one of the most important contributing factors to torn ligaments and that the surgery only stabilizes the joint and unfortunately arthritis is fairly inevitable. so we can slow down the progression with weight loss and joint lubricants. I hope this has helped!!!
dr. hirsch-