My dog needs his hind knee x-rayed. We live in Oregon. His vet quoted me about 0 because he will need to be sedated. Is this typical? This seems exorbitantly expensive to me.
Please don’t answer with “it depends”. I’m looking for actual NUMBERS please. From people who actually know instead of just guessing & typing down any random answer for yahoo points. Thanks.
A few other questions as well…
My pet insurance told me that pet fees are higher in my area than in many other states. Would it be worth the drive to Washington (about 45 minutes) to get reduced rates? What will that do for my ability to take him somewhere closer for cheaper and more routine things that will happen with more frequency? Is it worth being established at a very faraway vet to save some money on an xray and surgery?
Also, is it really going to be worth the trouble of calling around to find out? I already had to do quite a bit of calling around when the problem initially arose and I settled on a clinic that had moderate prices & had a good feeling about. They are very reasonable for routine things. However, I’m finding it really hard to believe how much they charge for diagnostic and surgical care.
The reason this even got brought up is because I had a friend who only paid about 0 for his dog’s (major) knee-repair surgery, and I was quoted 00 for a (minor) knee-repair surgery. Before I found this out I didn’t question a thing. Now I’m wondering. My clinic did say that his doctor is a noted knee speicalist though, would that have something to do with it?
240 seems pretty cheap actually. Maybe try to go to a pet clinic to see if it cheaper?
That is roughly right around the same amount they charged me when they x-rayed my dogs leg when she broke it.
but! it does depend!!!!!!!
well from experience, i have one dog who has had many many xrays, has ad to be sedated for all of them.
complete neck xrays were over 500$
complete hip were a bit under 400$
front joints were bout 300$
i don.t remember any other prices, he has wobblers and had a growth plate issue, thank goodness for insurance.
i have an old decrepit weiner/schnauzer who gets occasional chest xrays since shes got congestive heart failure, which is chronic, about 135-no sedation.
i live in alaska tho
a noted knee specialist will indeed charge mored because they have more experience, etc
my wobblers dog had a surgery which cost 3100. cut the humeral bone in two. worked, once again, glad i have insurance.
my dogs clinic is a specialist clinic, only one in ak. basically the most experienced because thats all they do so they can basically charge what they want
In my area, at two different vets, the x-rays were around $100 for two or three views. Neither animal needed to be sedated though. That may be where the extra cost is coming in. It is worth calling around to get a quick quote over the phone if you would actually consider switching vets. If you want the “knee specialist” to do the surgery, please let them do the x-rays. They probably feel more comfortable with their own x-rays and can do them just the way they like them. He may charge more for knee repairs because he is in higher demand due to his reputation, or something like that.
I don’t think I’d drive 45 minutes away for surgery unless I had to for some reason. Sometimes you need to go in for follow up visits and things of that nature and you’ll have to drive that far every time. Guess it’s a matter of priorities. I wouldn’t want to spend all that time driving a painful dog around so I’d pay a little extra to be closer. If money is tight, it may be worth it for you. Otherwise it may be worth calling other local clinics to see if someone is cheaper. Good luck!