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Spays and neuters can be really inexpensive. Call up your local shelter and ask. I’ve seen them go for nothing in some municipalities (as in $0) and seldom for more than a hundred bucks. $30-$50 seems about average for my part of the US (South Florida).
But “alterations” (spay or ovariohysterectomy for females and neuter or castration for boys) can also be darn pricey when they're not heavily subsidized by your tax dollars or by private foundations.
Dog spays? In private veterinary practices they typically range from $100 to $500, though I’ve seen spays go for as high as $1,500 in specialty hospitals (where they’re considered anything but routine).
Though our practice is not considered an especially pricey one, one notable case (an older, obese yellow Lab with a variety of complex underlying medical issues) left the hospital at just under $750(!).
Cat spays are priced more uniformly, since there’s not a big divide between the smallest and largest patients. Most are spayed quite young, too, which helps support this uniformity. $75 to $350 is typical.
Cat neuters adhere to an even smaller range: $50 to $150, typically.
And dog neuters usually go for anywhere from $100 to $500, depending more on the size of the patient than anything else, though complications may drive it up further in some exceptional cases.
“What’s up with that?” you may have asked yourself when presented with a $350 estimate for you dog’s neuter. “If I can get it for less than the price of a toaster oven at the shelter then how can it cost this much at my regular vet’s place?”
Never fret—that’s why I’m here. I planned this post to help demystify the expense of spays and neuters so that you can make an informed decision the next time you elect to “alter” your pet’s reproductive system.
For starters, spays and neuters are vastly different procedures. Though both remove your pets’ gonads (the organs that produce the sperm or eggs), they differ in complexity, risk, pain and time required to accomplish them.
Because a spay is an intra-abdominal procedure (we have to go inside the delicate abdomen), it’s more complicated. We must remove the ovaries and, typically, the uterus too (though less commonly undertaken in the US, it’s considered equally acceptable to remove the ovaries alone). More preparation, materials, anesthetic time, risk of infection and pain relievers are needed for this procedure than for a neuter.
Most pet owners consider the spay a simple procedure—but it’s not. Much of this mythology has to do with the importance we veterinarians have historically attached to the issue of population control.
Because we do so many spays (especially in young animals) we vets have also become desensitized to the complexity of the procedure. It’s only when an older, larger, fatter pet presents for the same “simple” spay that we become re-attuned to the difficulties it entails.
In the case of males, the gonads (the testicles) are on the outside of the body (unless a congenital malformation called cryptorchidism or a “retained testicle” is the case). For dogs, testicles are easily removed with one teeny incision on the outside and four simple snips on the inside. Voilá! Bigger dog have bigger vessels and thus pose a greater risk, but this procedure is always easier than any spay (that’s my take, anyway).
Cat neuters are the easiest of ‘em all. You just make two external incisions, pop out the goods and tie ‘em off. No resuturing even need take place. You’re done.
In general, the larger and/or older the pet the more discomfort, time and expense involved—whether it be a spay or neuter. That’s why most pricing of these procedures is based on size. For an older and/or fatter pet, I’ll typically tack on additional fees for the extra time, materials and pain medication required to do it right. That’s why we tend to provide more individualized estimates for these procedures. We refuse to provide exact estimates over the phone unless we’ve seen the pet before.
And while that may annoy those of you calling around to get the best price, it should also give you some insight. We wouldn’t expect a human doc or hospital to quote one rigid fee for every patient, right? Sure, insurance companies may set physician and hospital reimbursement limits, but we all know that’s no reflection on the individualized attention we expect from our healthcare providers.
It’s my opinion that veterinarians should be no different from human physicians in this regard. We should allow differences in pets’ needs to dictate our prices…but they don’t always...
Which brings me to my next point: Some veterinary facilities apply an economic philosophy when it comes to spays and neuters. As is also common for the pricing of vaccines and other routine procedures, some hospitals and clinics deliberately charge less for spays and neuters than for other items. They know we humans like to shop around by asking about prices for routine things—so we often keep these low to attract comparison shoppers.
That means they may not make as much on spays and neuters, but it also means they make up for it in other ways once you’ve walked in the door, met the vets and staff and decided you like what you see. Just as shelters subsidize their spays and neuters with tax dollars, some hospitals do it by increasing prices in other areas (like their pharmacy).
No, there’s nothing sinister about this—though it might sound strange. This practice is the legacy of a history of pet medicine as a retail service akin to oil changes on your SUV. Sure, our view has changed along with our growing attachment to our pets but price shopping pet healthcare, as for brake repairs, is still a common practice.
Consumer Reports even urges you to call around and get the price of a basket of vet basics, though in my experience some of the highest priced veterinary hospitals still under-price their spays, neuters and other routine procedures in this way.
Then there’s the issue of quality to contend with. Some hospitals can make spays and neuters more affordable by cutting costs in certain areas. Less expensive anesthetics, cheaper (or nonexistent) pain protocols, no monitoring equipment, no pranesthetic bloodwork, no IV catheters, no dedicated anesthesia, surgical or recovery technicians.
It’s true. Most pets don’t need some of these “bells and whistles”—until there’s a problem…and then they do.
Some shelters and low-cost spay and neuter clinics (where young pets are the norm) often live without the so-called frills. After all, they’re looking out for the entire population of pets and MUST cut corners if they’re to spay and neuter as many pets as possible with the limited funds they’ve got. (I used to neuter ferals on my kitchen table, so I should know).
Private veterinary hospitals, however, are dedicated to the care of individual pets. And while they might find ways to price themselves more affordably, we’re far less likely to skimp on the “frills” we’ve come to consider fundamental.
Given the specialized skill, modern equipment, high-quality materials, expensive drugs and multi-tech attention to our patients, it’s no stretch to say that spays and neuters are probably under-priced by most veterinary hospitals to some extent. How can some of us charge that much more than others for a procedure most of us consider necessary?
In years to come, it’s clear to me the price for these procedures will rise disproportionate to other veterinary services. As we vets continue to lose income from our pharmacies to online outlets and we begin to function less like retail stores, you can bet my range of fees for spays and neuters will creep beyond their higher limits. The question is: Will you be able to afford it?
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I know you don't much enjoy big dog spays, but are they really more risky than with smaller dogs, or is there just MORE of everything ?
My Rottweiler is just coming into her second season, then she will be spayed before her next one. I took the deliberate choice to let her have a couple of seasons after researching the health pros and cons (Especially with Rotts being so prone to bone cancer, the evidence on that one convinced me).
bottom line is you get what you pay for with cheap vs expensive spays....
pulse ox...pain meds...propathol vs ketamine....quality vs cheap and quick....does it matter?..sometimes.
Will I spend more vs less on it, yes, because I think at least in the case of spays, it does matter.
However, I am concerned by the constant increase in pricing because it will lead to an already flooded "market" of unwanted cats and kittens and dogs and rabbits.
I can't support the 100-200% prescription increase just to get it at the vet's office however. Not when my husband's yearly raise last week (union) was $0.25/hour.
I get all my meds online. I just order any antibiotics I "might" need in advance and still take any sick ones to the vet. Fortunately my vet works with me that way, but I am not the average pet owner.
But if I am going to spend the big bucks...I'd rather they go to lab work, or dentals, then to hiked up pharmaceutical costs.
If my current spay/neuter project wasn't a group of small sized, FIP exposed, somewhat immuniocompromised, I might spend $55.00 on a cheapo spay rather than 5 times that at my vet.
I think those choices depend on the situation. But if the overpopulation issue doesn't get addressed more aggressively, nature will take over and we could see some unpleasant diseases emerge that risk all our pets.
"Bleeding is the major risk. But that risk is easily mitigated if the surgeon is taking his/her time and enough attention is paid during the post-operative recovery period"
These are important words. This is why I would caution anyone to please place quality over cost when it comes to deciding WHERE to spay a pet. I would really caution ANYONE not to skimp on this surgery.
As I've mentioned before, I spend a lot of time reading veterinary disciplinary records from state vet boards. And, in the 2007 records I've reviewed, an alarming number of them are related to spays -- and spay-related deaths. Usually, because of exactly the things Dr. Khuly has pointed out.
Now, I realize that such a high volume of spays are performed (compared to other surgeries) that in a years' worth of "surgery-gone-wrong" stories most of them are bound to be about spays, and that doesn't mean that they are unusually risky. But here are the things that have gone wrong based on these records -- not necessarily in this order (although issues with the "ligatures" not being done right do seem to be the main problem).
#1: Vet failed to use TWO ligatures rather than one. I don't know that that means exactly, but it can lead to internal bleeding.
#2. Vet failed to tie off (ligate) both uterine horns. I don't know what that means either, but it too can apparently lead to massive bleeding.
#3. Vet use the wrong suture types or placed ligatures in such a way (incorrectly) that they slipped. Again, can lead to bleeding.
#4. Failure to maintain sterile surgical environment leading to infection.
#5. Failure to suture properly, leading to bleeding and/or infection and other problems.
#6. Failure to monitor adequately during or after surgery, including use of unlicensed staff for important duties, inadequate fluids and/or inadequate or incompetent treatment of post-surgical complications; failure to ensure the patient was recovered and able to stand before releasing.
#7. Failure to refer a patient/owner to a hospital with overnight monitoring and emergency care when the patient is having serious post-surgical complications.
#8. Less severe but still maddening -- performing abdominal surgery, but not spaying the dog entirely or at all. Yup, there are cases where a "spay" has been performed and the dog comes home with an incision site and everything, went through anesthesia -- and then goes into heat. Followup reveals that the dog was never spayed, or not entirely spayed.
Bottom line -- stuff can go wrong. Do your homework. Paying lots of $$$ doesn't necessarily mean nothing will go wrong, but if some of that extra $$ goes for licensed staff, experienced surgeons with no disciplinary record of botched spays, good monitoring and pain control, and overnight monitoring if needed (or referral to overnight monitoring if needed) and good, hygienic conditions -- IMHO, it's WELL WORTH IT.
What I'd really like to know is whether the people who do high-volume spay are THE BEST at it (especially that apparently very important LIGATURE thing) because they've done so many of them -- or whether, BECAUSE of the volume, they are less likely to take all the time and care needed to do the best job. That is what I would like to know.
All my own dogs have been altered by the shelters/rescues before I've gotten them (as adults) and everybody's been fine. But they weren't *mine* yet and it wasn't my decision to make. It would never be my choice- I want the best care available, and I want to know that my pet is an individual on surgery day, not one in an assembly line of nameless pets.
Ligating (tying off) both ureters instead of the uterine horns. If you tie off both ureters, urine can't get out, and it results in kidney failure.
http://tags.library.upenn.edu/tag/veterinary_video...
http://www.vetvideos.com/
http://old.cvm.msu.edu/courses/vm557/surgery/index...
Stefani, a ligature is just when you tie a loop of suture around a blood vessel or bit off tissue to stop blood flow through it. We were taught to tie two ligatures in each place where we were going to cut because it make it less likely the the site will bleed and gives you security against a ligature slipping off or one of the knots coming undone. So, you make one loop, knot it, cut your suture, then move a little bit away and make another loop, knot it, and cut it.
It's a bit of a balancing act between putting in enough knots and ligatures to prevent the site from bleeding and not putting in too much. Suture is considered a foreign body, and even though it's sterile, it can still cause irritation and infection until it gets absorbed. I suppose some vets only do one ligature because it's cheaper (since you use less suture) and it's faster (provided they don't start bleeding internally, of course).
I had nightmares (literally!) about doing this before I did my first spay. Of course our professors would never let us make a mistake like that, but I didn't relax until our surgery dog went #1 and #2 post-op....
I'm guessing that since dog and cat uteruses are V shaped, instead of pear shaped like ours, might have something to do with it. But what about just tying off/cauterizing the ovaries? What's the reason for this not being done, or commonly done if it's being done occasionally?
Cost is the main reason that most vets don't spay endoscopically. A good scope is a HUGE investment and a lot of training and practice is required. When my vet first started performing laproscopic spays, they took WAY longer than a routine surgical spay. Now he is quite proficient, but we charge more for this service to help pay for the scope.
Whassup with that?Q
That said, I have only experienced one "botched" neuter 30+ years ago, post surgery infection that resolved with antibiotics & treatment.
I live in a state where there is a long-standing subsidized spay/neuter program in place that oddly is a 2 parter----one does not involve income requirements at all to qualify!!! It is my opinion that this program become dismantled and perhaps the low income qualifying program become easier to obtain (as a compromise). Still, the "bells and whistles" should be the same basic standard of service for both.