Dog Knee Ligament (CCL) Repair

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.

Cost of TTA Surgery for Cranial Cruciate Ligament - Cost of Knee Surgery for Dogs

If your dog has suffered a torn or ruptured cranial cruciate ligament injury, you may be starting to look for surgical options and you’re probably also starting to wonder about the cost. Most knee surgeries in dogs can cost as low as $800 all the way up to $3,000+.

The cost to repair the CCL in a dog (equivalent of an ACL in humans), will fluctuate based on the state that you live in, the experience of the surgeon, the weight of the dog, the invasiveness & complication level of the surgery, etc.

Through my experience, and from talking to a few of my friends whose dogs had cranial cruciate ligament repair surgeries, I believe that you should expect to spend somewhere in the range of $1,500. You may end up paying a little more or less depending on the above criteria, but go in expecting somewhere around $1,500.

Don’t forget about the “hidden” costs of a cranial cruciate ligament repair surgery.