[TeresaDL]

Where would be the best place to look for low cost surgery for my dog. Normally I wouldn't need to ask but times are tuff. He needs a large bleeding growth cut off. I adopted him out of the pound 1 year ago and don't want to have to let him go. There must be a more affordable option than the $950 my vet wants, up front of course.
Thanks for any ideas,
Teresa

[vegaslocal55]

Try Charleston East Animal Hospital. They were half the price of anyone else in town when I needed to send my little one to the big dog park in the sky.

[TeresaDL]

Originally Posted by vegaslocal55

Try Charleston East Animal Hospital. They were half the price of anyone else in town when I needed to send my little one to the big dog park in the sky.

Thank You!

[swagger]

I just had three tumors/cysts removed from my cats neck, cost under $400 including blood work. Despite their really low prices, I have zero complaints with this vet.

Cheyenne Tonopah Animal Hospital - Welcome

[Buzz123]

Years ago we had a mobile vet that was cheaper than anyone else. Do we still have one of those? Thought I saw one the other day.

[WestieJeff]

For $950, the vet is either really overcharging or it's a complex case if it's a large tumor. Large tumors can require complex skin grafts and flaps to close that require extra skill on the part of the surgeon and/or recovery time.

I don't have any advice of where to go, but if it is growing, get it done ASAP and unless the vet is 100%, get a biopsy first! You don't want to undertake a large tumor removal if it is a sarcoma or something that is likely to come back. In those cases, depending on the location of the tumor it may be better to do an amputation up front, etc. Most people don't want to hear that, but is better than attempting the surgery and finding out you can't remove enough of the tumor to get clean margins and still close the wound and have it heal.

[havreman]

Originally Posted by TeresaDL

Where would be the best place to look for low cost surgery for my dog. Normally I wouldn't need to ask but times are tuff. He needs a large bleeding growth cut off. I adopted him out of the pound 1 year ago and don't want to have to let him go. There must be a more affordable option than the $950 my vet wants, up front of course.
Thanks for any ideas,
Teresa

$950!!! Whoa! I know this isn't the question you asked but I grew up on a farm. Perhaps the best thing to do is to take the dog out and shoot it. It's not fun, it's not pleasant but I think it's the right thing to do.

[GailMI]

Originally Posted by WestieJeff

For $950, the vet is either really overcharging or it's a complex case if it's a large tumor. Large tumors can require complex skin grafts and flaps to close that require extra skill on the part of the surgeon and/or recovery time.

I don't have any advice of where to go, but if it is growing, get it done ASAP and unless the vet is 100%, get a biopsy first! You don't want to undertake a large tumor removal if it is a sarcoma or something that is likely to come back. In those cases, depending on the location of the tumor it may be better to do an amputation up front, etc. Most people don't want to hear that, but is better than attempting the surgery and finding out you can't remove enough of the tumor to get clean margins and still close the wound and have it heal.

I took my dog to Banfield in Henderson because her abdomen was distended and she was in pain. They charged me $950 for xrays, blood tests, meds and a day on IV for "hydration." They never DID find out what was wrong. I also had my other dog's teeth cleaned there (what started out as a $200 job turned into $650--they had to pull some) and while she was under sedation I asked if they could remove several warts. They wanted $50/wart. She still has the warts....

Has anyone else had experience with this place? I'm think I'm going to continue to shop around. They seem like they are WAY out of line with cost. And they're always bringing in "estimates" of whole laundry lists of stuff they want to do. My first estimate for teeth cleaning was $1200....geesh...

[vegaslocal55]

Banfield is HORRIBLY overpriced. I had their insurance program, & when my dog had an illness by the time "extras" were added to the bill the bill was higher than if I'd paid the whole amount elsewhere. Imagine if I hadn't had the initial amount covered with the insurance & would have had to pay that too! It would have been double or triple an average price.
Another place I think is reasonable & very efficient is South Valley animal Hospital.

[WestieJeff]

Just about very animal hospital in the valley has people who love and hate it. My wife is a vet and has worked at several hospitals in the valley, that's why I rarely recommend any hospitals.

Banfield is a cookie cutter corporate shop that hires a lot of new grads. Many vets look down on Banfield, but really just like any other clinic, it's not so much about the hospital, but the individual vet who is treating your animal. Banfield is heavily commission/production oriented (yes, if you didn't know, most vets are on some type of commission/production pay schedule).

It was smart to get the distended abdomen checked out. That can be GDV, which is an emergency life threatening disease if not treated very quickly. Anything like this, you can expect the vet to order bloodwork and x-rays, they can't diagnose without at least that info.

I can't speak to $950 for getting the distended abdomen checked out, but $650 for a dental is not unheard of. Dental extractions need to be done by a vet and that pricing isn't included in the base price. Unless you're getting your pet's teeth cleaned very regularly (depending on breed, small dogs need it more often) then they will need extractions. Most people get their pet's teeth cleaned like every 5 years and often times they need a lot of extractions unless your pet has great teeth or you're brushing them regularly.