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.

Related Posts

• Cruciate Ligament Injury In Dogs – Cost & Repair Options
• Cost of TPLO Surgery – Cost to Repair Torn Cruciate Ligament in Dogs
• TPLO vs. TTA vs. Lateral Fabellar Traditional Technique – Cranial Cruciate Ligament Repair