Vet Fees (Surgery)

kormak

Hi there,
Just had my dog at the vet today for consultation around a lump under his tail.
€93 for the visit today as there was a few extra medicines required.
No worries, I understand a vet like anyone else has to charge for their time/expertise, etc.
She's advised that he needs lumpectomy surgery (gen anaesthetic) to have this lump removed. Whist he's asleep, they recommended that they clean his teeth and ears. All of this has been estimated to me at €482. I knew this would be costly, but I nearly fell off the chair when I read the email.
Does this seem like a big amount or is this a normal price? He's nearly 10 and I've never had to have him have surgery up until now.

Springwell

No, that doesn't seem excessive for a dental and a lump removal under GA.

How much does a scale and polish cost for humans - €100? More and that's with no anesthetic.

Think of it broken down -

Medication for sedation
An IV catheter, fluid line and bag of fluids
Isoflurane gas and oxygen (Anesthetic)
Antibiotics and Pain relief
Suture material
Sterilization of a surgical kit (x2, dental kit is different to the lumpectomy kit)
Possibly histology (identification) of the lump
Plus time and knowledge of a vet and vet nurse to treat your dog safely and competently
That's before you get into the practice having bought an anesthetic machine, operating equipment etc....

If you think it's quite expensive maybe seem if the lumpectomy can be done separately but I'd guess the practice are trying to save you money on a second GA in a few years when his teeth get worse?

tk123

That’s a really good price tbh. My dog had a tooth out and it was over €600 - that was during 20% off dental month! :eek:

cocker5

kormak wrote: »

Hi there,
Just had my dog at the vet today for consultation around a lump under his tail.
€93 for the visit today as there was a few extra medicines required.
No worries, I understand a vet like anyone else has to charge for their time/expertise, etc.
She's advised that he needs lumpectomy surgery (gen anaesthetic) to have this lump removed. Whist he's asleep, they recommended that they clean his teeth and ears. All of this has been estimated to me at €482. I knew this would be costly, but I nearly fell off the chair when I read the email.
Does this seem like a big amount or is this a normal price? He's nearly 10 and I've never had to have him have surgery up until now.

Assuming no pet insurance?

No not excessive at all OP

VonVix

If you can't afford it, could you maybe see how much doing the lump and teeth/ears separately will cost? It would mean anesthetic twice, but you could see what the vet thinks.

Sheepdish1

Springwell wrote: »

No, that doesn't seem excessive for a dental and a lump removal under GA.

How much does a scale and polish cost for humans - €100? More and that's with no anesthetic.

Think of it broken down -

Medication for sedation
An IV catheter, fluid line and bag of fluids
Isoflurane gas and oxygen (Anesthetic)
Antibiotics and Pain relief
Suture material
Sterilization of a surgical kit (x2, dental kit is different to the lumpectomy kit)
Possibly histology (identification) of the lump
Plus time and knowledge of a vet and vet nurse to treat your dog safely and competently
That's before you get into the practice having bought an anesthetic machine, operating equipment etc....

If you think it's quite expensive maybe seem if the lumpectomy can be done separately but I'd guess the practice are trying to save you money on a second GA in a few years when his teeth get worse?

That is a really great and informative answer!! Are you a vet or do you just randomly know what needs to be done? I’m impressed !

I think it is quite reasonable too. Wouldn’t think the ear clean costs anything but monitoring and caring for animal under anaesthetic is important. Dental hygiene will prevent future problems and would be best done under anaesthetic at the same time to avoid her going under twice.

I actually think vets are quite good value when compared to what we would pay for the same procedure to be done on us. Get quote from other vets to be sure and compare them. But send all info that was sent to you incase the dog doesn’t get all the right care.

Mince Pie

We paid over £400 to have a scan for our dogs gurgle guts. So no, not expensive. The older they get the more they cost. We have spent in excess of £4000 this year because the little one ruptured her cruciate ligament and no insurance. Big fricking ouch on both sides. Always insure your pet.

p.s, the £4000 was between adopting a new dog, both getting kennel cough, both having different problems, one gurgle guts and the other then getting a pee infection along with the cruciate. The minor problems were under the excess. Jeez it hurts writing that amount of money down. The things we do for love.

tk123

Insurance doesn’t cover dental work anyways .. so the vet is doing a favour doing it all at once to save money and save putting the dog under twice.

kormak

Thanks for all your informative replies... and I appreciate our little doggie friends cost us more the older they get!

Alun

tk123 wrote: »

Insurance doesn’t cover dental work anyways ..

Not completely true. Allianz will cover non-cosmetic dental work, providing they've had their annual checkup which must include a dental examination. Our cat has had a couple of extractions covered by them, certainly. She's also had plaque removal done, but I'm not sure if that was covered though.