Why Does Dog / Cat Surgery Cost so Much Money?

Many of us have gone to our dog/cat's veterinarian appointment and the technician or doctor recommends a dental cleaning. We get that estimate, (you know, the one that has the really high dollar amount?), and we say "Forget it!". Well, many of us do not understand why veterinarian bills can be so high, especially on a routine dental cleaning.

There has been so many improvements in veterinarian medicine just as there is improvement in human medicine. With every year comes new advancements in technology and surgical techniques. Routine dental cleanings should cost only $100, right? Well, back when veterinarians did not take any precautions, yes, you could have easily gotten away with a $100 or less. Now days, with new research and equipment implemented in order to ensure your pet stays safe, costs have risen. Take the routine dental as our example, back in the day they would have never recommended blood work pre-surgery. Today, blood work is becoming required prior to a surgical procedure. The reason for this is to ensure that there are no red flags on the blood work indicating that your pet may have renal or hepatic disease. Anesthesia and pain medications are processed through these organs and if they are compromised prior to administration of either, your pet could die because of that.

Blood work adds a huge cost to the bill, but you must look at the reasons for doing it. It is not a car salesman trying to sell you something, your veterinarian is strictly looking out for your animals well being and overall health. Intravenous catheter placement is also becoming more required. Again, this comes to the point I stated earlier that veterinarians are also practicing preventative medicine. Having an IV catheter placed and fluids running throughout the procedure will ensure that your pets blood pressure can be controlled (increasing/decreasing fluid rate) and maintaining overall hydration. An IV catheter also offers a quick access to a vein to administer the proper medications if there is bradycardia, tachycardia, hypo/hypertension, etc. Pain medication on the treatment plan also will increase your cost, but will help your pet deal with post-operative pain. Extractions are a possibility along with dental radiographs, however, veterinarians will give you an estimation as to how much a certain dental disease grade would cost (i.e., with a dental disease grade 4, they would commonly see problems ranging anywhere from $400 -$1200 of extra procedures such as extractions and radiographs). This may not be the case for your pet though. The plaque may clean up just fine and the oral exam may indicate no problematic teeth.

Just remember, what is on the treatment plan is for your pet's benefit. Veterinarians are careful more than ever before and utilize the tools that they have to ensure your pet stays healthy under anesthesia. Monitoring equipment will also increase cost, but you can be sure that your pet will be safer than he/she would have been 5-10 years ago. When you question something on a treatment plan at your veterinarians office, ask the doctor or technician to clarify it with you. It never hurts to ask and when your pet's life is at risk under anesthesia, you want all of the information you can get.