Apparently my dog has torn one of his cruciate ligaments and needs surgery. They are going to be performing some sort of patented procedure in which they actually readjust the mechanics of the knee to keep the joint working properly and prevent further slipping.
My question, although I’m not sure it belongs here or elsewhere, is if $3,500 for this is typical or on the high side? Also, some sites suggest that there is as much as a 50% chance his other knee will give out as well. I just don’t have $7k to spend on my dog’s knees. Can anyone point me to some sites that talk more about how to prevent the other knee from blowing out?
I can’t help with the factuals, but FWIW I know someone whose dog recently required the same surgery for both back legs. The price was comparable to what you’ve posted.
Our little dachshund-terrier mutt tore both of her ACLs in her back legs in a 24-hour period back in 1994. (She apparently tore one chasing rabbits in the back yard, started favoring that leg, and then tore the other. We knew that she was limping initially, but didn’t realize how serious it was until her whole back end gave out.)
Anyway, the procedure to repair both ACLs here in Eastern Connecticut cost us $800.
The operation was a complete success. She was running around like she always had after the splints came off. She ended up living for another 5 years before dying at 17.
I don’t know how “new” this type of procedure is, but as I mentioned, we had it done in a fairly rural area of Connecticut nearly 12 years ago.
My seventy pound mixed breed tore out one ACL and it cost $1500 for repairs. A year later, almost to the day, she tore out the other one. Got a discount on that one, only $1100.
At that time there were two different types of repairs available. One involved bone removal and metal plates. We chose the simpler repair because we were informed that if the simpler repair failed, the more complecated one was an additional option.
I’d certainly check around for additional opinions.
Knees: an argument against Intelligent Design.
There are doggie insurance programs, but the one we had for a while would not cover any repeats of ilnesses or injuries, like kennel cough.
The procedure that you are referring to is a TPLO, or Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy. It WAS a patented procedure to change the mechanics of the knee, but the patent has since run out. We had both back legs of our lab done at a Veterinary teaching hospital. The cost was around $1700 for one and $1900 for the other. (She had some complications on the second surgery so that is the reason for the difference. ) After the first surgery, we were told the 50% chance of having to repair the other leg, and three months after the first surgery, we were back for the second. If you have the means, I would highly recommend an underwater treadmill therapy for after surgery therapy. We did this on our dogs second surgery and the leg was completely healed after two months instead of the standard three. There are lesser surgeries that actually try to repair the ligament that are much cheaper, however, the surgery will only last 4-5 years and it will need to be done again. Our dog is young enough that we decided on the more expensive TPLO because of its permanence.
We had TPLO done our lab mix’s legs; he’s 85 pounds and very bouncy, and the simpler ligament replacement has a poor prognosis for such dogs. If your dog is less than 20 pounds, TPLO may be overkill, and $3500 for one knee is friggin’ ridiculous – we paid less than that for both knees.
I just called another vet hospital and apparently $3k isn’t out of line for TPLO. They did say cruciate surgery is around $1500, but were rather emphatic that TPLO was for a totally different purpose.
I’m with David Simmons. I’m a farm kid, and uneconomical animals met with the same fate regardless of whether they were pets or livestock. I understand being attached to a pet, but 3.5 grand? Not that attached.
And just so you don’t think I’m totally callous, remember that there are perfectly healthy puppies at the pound that will be put down for lack of a home. It seems to me it makes far more sense to adopt one of those and put down the cripple that needs expensive surgery, and spend the difference on something more important. But it’s your money, do what you like with it.
Both my Chesapeake and his sister blew out their ACL’s on all four hind legs. I opted for the TPLO on both legs of my dog, his sister got the traditional reconstructive surgery. The TPLO brought my dog’s legs back to like new, while his sister is definitely slower, not like she was prior to surgery. The TPLO’s were around $1,900 each, but worth it.
We got Copper, a “free” dog, 8 years ago from a farmer who had a neighbor dog break into his barn and service both of his female dogs who just happened to be in heat at the same time.
Copper partially tore her right ACL 3 years ago, and had a TPLO performed at the University of Illinois. If I remeber right, the cost was right around $2,000. Less than a year later, she tore her left knee and had the TPLO done on that side to the tune of $2,500… well she only has two knees so we thought our days of surgery were behind us but…
Last year she began limping so we took her back down to U of I. This time she had ruptured the last disc in her back. Another $2K later, she’s good as new.
Anyway, if you happen to be near a teaching vet hospital, you may want to check with them. They seem to be a little cheaper, and each time Copper was there, she was assigned a student who spent alot of time with her.
Our Newfoundland tore his ACL almost two years ago, and we opted for no reconstructive surgery because he has hip dysplasia (severe). The vet said if it weren’t for the hips, he would have recommended surgery (but now it’s just switching deck chairs on the Titanic).
IIRC, our family’s first Newf had a hip replacement that ran about $4000. We have since decided against similar surgery for subsequent dogs, but are not totally against it.
PS- Newf gets along just fine on the wrecked knee- go figure. Hardy dogs.
I have a chessie that blew out her knee two years ago, it was 2000 that I didn’t have then. Although I love my dog I’m a single parent of two kids and had to draw the line somewhere. At any rate she has done fine with no treatment, even jogs with me every other day, well slow trot for her.
