Anyine familiar with cystotomy for dogs?

[YadaYadaYada]

So, we found out today our five year old Cavalier mix has bladder stones. He was completely blocked and unable to pass urine when I brought him in this morning. He is currently at the vet and catheterized until Monday when he is scheduled to have a cystotomy to remove the stones.

The estimate we received today is $3,177 on the low end and $4,150 on the high end. We were only given this option or a diet to dissolve the stones but that runs the risk of a blockage before the diet takes effect.

My question is, does this seem high for a surgical procedure of this nature? I have tried looking online but can't find any recent articles about cost. We are in an expensive area and since he is not having the surgery anyway I figure I would get some input to see if perhaps calling other vets would be prudent.

Also if anyone works in this field and can advise on alternative procedures that we might not have been offered at this practice, I would greatly appreciate it. Obviously we want to do what is best for the dog but $4,000 is a lot of money and we just want to make sure that this isn't an unreasonable or inflated amount.

TIA!

 

[missy]

Stephanie, I spoke with my sister for you and she is hesitant to give advice not knowing your dog or the important details but here is what she said. Please take it with a grain of salt however since she is not your dog's doctor.

"I don't know general health of dog or what estimate includes. Probably surgical blood work and X-rays. It's a Cavalier. May have a murmur and need a surgical echocardiogram.
In general, cystotomy is usually best course of action for bladder stones, but again, I don't know this individual dog or his overall health
That all being said, I don't know prices, but the $3000 range seems very reasonable."


HTH. And sending lots of doggie good health dust and healing vibes to your sweet dog.

 

[tyty333]

Can you call some other reputable vets in your area and ask? I dont know if they can give you a number over the phone or not.
Can you ask your vet for a breakdown on the cost so you understand it better and know what to ask other vets?

So sorry to hear your baby is having problems. I hope it all works out.

Edit...I goggled around some ...you've probably seen the same things I saw. I saw quotes for $1200 in 2014 and here is a breakdown
I found but it is from 2011.
A quick breakdown of some key line items on the quote:

$37.40 for one Propofol Iv Anesthetic
$42.00 for 1st 30 min. Isofluorine (includes ECG, O2, BP)
$60.00 for every additional 15 min. Isofluorine (she estimates needing 150 addtl minutes)
$530.45 for the Cystotomy itself

She also has included a $75.95 urinary calculi analysis.

I think it really depends on what part of the country you live in.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

tyty-thanks for your response, that is helpful, I am thinking our part of the country has a lot to do with the cost of this but depending on what time he is scheduled for I might be able to get some quotes from other vets.

Missy-Thanks for asking your sister, he does have a heart murmur albeit a slight one but we were given the heads up yesterday that the surgeon might want an echocardiogram done prior to the surgery. He is healthy otherwise, a reasonable weight at 13lbs but he will probably be on a specialized diet because of the stones. I'm at least glad to know that the estimate they gave us is not out of line for this type of procedure: