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ACL surgery for a dog - recommendations...

Topshelf

Topshelf

Active Member
Jan 31, 2007
920
28
28
Ames, IA
Hello fellow fanatics,

Our 5 year old Golden Doodle hurt her knee about 3 weeks ago and hasn't put weight on it yet. Our vet recommended TPLO surgery as she feels clicking in the knee and thinks there may be meniscus damage as well as ACL tear. She told me we have to use a "board certified surgeon" and that Iowa State would be best. I called Iowa State and found out it would cost between $2600 and $3600 for the procedure...

Does anybody know any other vets in the state that could do it for less? That's a lot of money to spend... My wife and I want to do what's best but aren't sure if there are other options.

Thanks in advance for the advice.
 
If you're going to do it, spend the money and have it done right by someone who's an expert. Don't try to save $500 and then end up having to do it again or it is ineffective. I have a good buddy whose dog needed both rear legs and the price you are quoted was about what he paid at Eastern Iowa Vet Hospital.
 
There are several vets in central Iowa who have a surgical component to their practice that goes beyond the normal spay/neuter/declaw/dewclaw type stuff. You can search for vet-surgical and probably locate a few.

ISUSMVH IS expensive, but the facilities and skills are second to none. They refashioned a hip for my pets twice - once for a Brittany Spaniel and once for a cat. Both went on to live long, comfortable lives with normal range of motion.

Best of luck - pets are fambly too!
 
LutherBlue said:
If you're going to do it, spend the money and have it done right by someone who's an expert. Don't try to save $500 and then end up having to do it again or it is ineffective. I have a good buddy whose dog needed both rear legs and the price you are quoted was about what he paid at Eastern Iowa Vet Hospital.
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Spot on, IMO.
 
If you're looking to save money.....

th
 
Topshelf said:
Hello fellow fanatics,

Our 5 year old Golden Doodle hurt her knee about 3 weeks ago and hasn't put weight on it yet. Our vet recommended TPLO surgery as she feels clicking in the knee and thinks there may be meniscus damage as well as ACL tear. She told me we have to use a "board certified surgeon" and that Iowa State would be best. I called Iowa State and found out it would cost between $2600 and $3600 for the procedure...

Does anybody know any other vets in the state that could do it for less? That's a lot of money to spend... My wife and I want to do what's best but aren't sure if there are other options.

Thanks in advance for the advice.
Click to expand...

I just went through this with my golden lab last yest. My surgeon previous taught at ISU last name was Merckle. I would give you more info but I threw away his card a few weeks ago (Nice timing). He did a TPLO surgery and my dog is doing great now. I don't notice anything wrong except that she holds her leg up when going down steps but all other indications are great. X-Rays were great as well. It cost $2400 for me + cost of meds to have him do it at Petsmart here in Omaha and I took her home 8 hours later. I priced checked ISU and KSU and this was the cheapest option for this procedure that I could find.
It's a crappy deal so best of luck to you and your pup.
 
3TrueFans said:
Yeah, I mean I loved my dog when she was with us, but if it came down to spending $3,500 I don't think I could do it.
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That is the thing, for a big dog, it's a surgery that has to be done for them to do anything really. Unless you put them down for a leg injury, you will stare at your dog every day that is in pain. That would be on you. Many people would have a hard time with that. My solution is, this is the only dog I will own. I can't afford to do this and don't have the heart not to do it. It's also something many people are not aware of when getting your "foster dog" for $50. ACL tears are 20 times more common than hip displaysa for large dogs and most people don't even know that.
 
Animal Clinic-The Vet, in Marshalltown has a vet that is excellent. He has done many ACL's. People have come from all over the state and maybe out of state for their dog's ACL surgery.
My guess is that would cost much much much less.
 
kingcy said:
That is a lot of money to spend on dog.
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It is a lot of money to spend on anything. To some people, their dog is worth it to others it is not. I think it is an individual's decision to make on what they want to spend their money on. Some people think what a lot of us spend for ISU tickets and merchandise is a lot. It is all up to the individual person how much they are willing to spend on something and if it is worth it or not.
 
This is just another reason why I don't own any pets. I wouldn't want to spend that sort of money but I wouldn't want to put them down for something like that. Easier not to have to ever make that decision.
 
Cyclones_R_GR8 said:
This is just another reason why I don't own any pets. I wouldn't want to spend that sort of money but I wouldn't want to put them down for something like that. Easier not to have to ever make that decision.
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Interesting logic
 
Cyclones_R_GR8 said:
This is just another reason why I don't own any pets. I wouldn't want to spend that sort of money but I wouldn't want to put them down for something like that. Easier not to have to ever make that decision.
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I wish more pet owners had your good sense of your own priorities. I get frustrated* when I see people who have pets but give them a lousy quality of life.**


*When I say "frustrated" I mean I would like to punch these people in the throat.
**That is not meant to suggest that every pet owner should spend every last $ on their pets, everyone's circumstances are different.
 
I'd spend $3500 for one more day with my dog. Do whatever it takes to make her well, and don't do it on the cheap.
 
We have the same issue with our golden retriever's back legs. We've already once taken him to the animal hospital on merle hay road and they said that the tplo surgery is what we'd be looking at for both legs. Supposedly the head vet there was a professor at ISU and has done the most of those surgery's around here. He said that it wasn't bad enough at the time to do the surgery so we've been playing wait and see however just this past week our dog tweaked the back right leg so we've been thinking it's about time to bite the bullet. If I remember correctly, this place cost around 2800-3000 per leg so the cost at ISU doesn't sound too far off.
 
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