$11,000 For A Hip Op

[StaceyB]

I wouldn't pay it for the dog in question, the outcome and quality of life are too uncertain. Someone mentioned that the agression could be due to the pain and I agree with that, but the surgery is not gauranteed to work so, while it might help, it won't solve the bigger problem. I would PTS.

If it was Gypsy, who has a beautiful nature, is young and healthy and the outcome had a high expectancy of success it would be a different matter. I would be faced with a very tough decision and I honestly cannot say what I would do.

I think that if you're dog is sick you owe it to them to do everything in your power to make it better, but $11000 is a lot of money and I certainly don't have a spare $10K lying around!

ETA - Diva is right, it's not just about the $$ figure, there are a lot of contributing factors. But you can't get blood from a stone, and if the money's not there what other options do you have?!

Edited October 17, 2007 by StaceyB

[snarferama]

That's very sad.

If Hermes needed the op and he would gain a better quality of life then I would try my absolute hardest to get the cash together- no idea where the money would come from but I'd do everything I could. However- he's young, has no serious behavioural issues etc. It's not the same situation as above. If I were in that position then no, I don't think I'd opt for the surgery.

[Staffyluv]

When I answered the Ops question, I answered as if it were my dog in that situation. I still maintain I would spend the money in a heartbeat to save my if it were to give him freedom from pain and quality of life. I have not taken into account the biting of the child (perhaps the dog is biting because it is in pain???)

I noticed a few people have said they would not do it for the dog in question but would if it were their own dog... Just an observation...

Jodie

[kateykateykatey]

When I answered the Ops question, I answered as if it were my dog in that situation. I still maintain I would spend the money in a heartbeat to save my if it were to give him freedom from pain and quality of life. I have not taken into account the biting of the child (perhaps the dog is biting because it is in pain???)

I noticed a few people have said they would not do it for the dog in question but would if it were their own dog... Just an observation...

Jodie

I think quality of life is an issue, and I guess from what Poodle Wrangler said, it's not guaranteed after a hip operation? It's such an overwhelming thing to consider.

[Kaz]

I have had that op done on my boy when he was around 9 months old. They break the pelvis in three places and pin the hip in a different position so that the ball of the joint is held properly within the socket.

Unfortunately the other hip was too far gone already and he will probably have to have a hip replacement on that side later in life.

Luckily I was in a position to afford this surgery (big ouch to the hip pocket though). It is not within everyone's budget however.

I have to say I am glad I got it done and wish I could have done both.

[malleerr]

I think this is quite a personal decision and there is no right or wrong or easy answer to it.

We have spent thousand (i mean thousands) of dollars on our girl who had both ED and HD diagnoised about 3 months apart and all operations done prior to her turning 1. Yes, it was a very expensive task, but we are glad that we made the decision to go ahead with it, her quality of life has increased ten fold and if it were not for her massive scars you probably would not even now that she has had all these major surgeries. Mind you, our set of circumstances were a bit different as we were not advised correctly by the first vet we saw, who failed to advise us that her hips where bad also when she was diagonised with the ED (her excuse was we only enquired about the front legs, even though hip xrays were done ), so we were already half way there when we found out about the HD, so after spending $$$ on the front legs, we could not justify stopping there and letting that money go to waste and have a dog still in pain and no better off if you know what i mean. Mallee's first HD operation (the one which Kaz talks about) also failed her resulting in her having to undergo emergency surgery (FNHE) again, we had a lovely surgeon though who did the second set of operations for free.

Though, if Mallee had had aggression problems, or if we could not have been certain that her quality of life would be better we would not have done it.

Its not only the money side of things that needs to be considered, its also the emotional and physical stress that you will go through, and what the dog will go through, and whether or not you feel the dog could cope and not come out of it any worse off, and if behaviour problems are already there, well i would think that with the confinement and such involved in these types of operations i would be more inclined not to go ahead with it. You have to be very commited to your dog with these types of ops, we had to walk Mallee on a sling for a good 4months, she relied on us for everything during the recovery months and could not do anything for herself without us there.

I have no regrets for doing what we did with Mallee, my only regrets surround a stupid vet who misinformed us greatly, but that being said, we have come out of it with a well rounded dog who is now pain free and happy, but again if we had of know, about the ED & HD at the same time, well i doubt Mallee would still be here.

[Reddii]

It's almost 12 months since I was in a similar situation. Rex had been limping since he was 4 months old, despite constant rest. when he was finally diagnosed with OCD and we were told that it was one of the most severe cases the vet had seen and quoted about $3k for the op we had to think long and hard. The vets felt b/c of the severity of it it might have been due to an injury in the nest or genetic, not diet related.

When it came down to it the vets couldn't guarantee us an outcome and even if the op was a success it would have meant a sedate life for a psycho border collie. (He had beahavioural issues too, but they were almost sorted by this time - hadn't bitten anyone though.)

Sorry to say, but we decided to give the little man his wings at 7 months and I don't regret the decision for second. I know in my heart that 3 months in a crate, followed by another likely op in 12 months time and another 3 months in a crate would have been more than he could have tolerated. The likely $8k to $10k price tag with all the rehab wasn't even an issue, it came down to his potential quality of life.

No, I would not spend the money on the dog OP mentioned.

Edited October 18, 2007 by Reddii

[Kaz]

Mallerr - our dog had the operation for the elbow displacia shortly after the hip operation.

Unfortunately it didn't take and I manage his condition with natural remedies though I'm beginning to think it is time I consulted another vet about other possible treatments. Glad it worked out for your dog.

Dogsforall - you're right in that it's a personal decision.

There really is no right answer and even the success of the operation is a gamble.

Still glad I did it though. Paddy has a great quality of life though he won't be running any marathons.

PnH have a young rescue rottie at the moment who has just being diagnosed. She is around two years old so medication and probable hip replacement later in life is the only option. It will probably take a while for her to find the right home if she ever does. So she will be moving in with me for the forseeable future..

Then the two HD dogs can totter around together

[Pug Hugger]

i agree what a tough decision. if i had the finances and it was louie absoluetely. for a foster i could not justify it

[StaceyB]

When I answered the Ops question, I answered as if it were my dog in that situation. I still maintain I would spend the money in a heartbeat to save my if it were to give him freedom from pain and quality of life. I have not taken into account the biting of the child (perhaps the dog is biting because it is in pain???)

I noticed a few people have said they would not do it for the dog in question but would if it were their own dog... Just an observation...

Jodie

Hi Staffyluv,

I know a few of us (myself included) have said that we would do it for our own dogs, but we have mostly added conditions, e.g the quality of life awfterwards, expected outcome of surgery.

I know that if the dog in the OP was Gypsy, I wouldn't do it. But my girl is not like that. If the expectation was not good, I would PTS before it got too bad.

[Sheridan]

Wouldn't hesitate for my own dog but then, I've never had to fork out money upfront for vet bills. I've always been able to pay them off. I don't have $11,000 and if I had to fork out up front then I'd simply not be able to do so. If I could pay it off then I would.