Author:
muppet
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Date:
6/17/2013 5:30:00 PM
Subject:
Molly update update
So, the new vet actually conducted the displacement tests that the old vet insisted Molly would need general anesthesia costing hundreds of dollars for.
I didn't ask her to do them w/o anesthesia, she just did them very matter of factly as if any idiot would.
So.. Molly definitely has a torn Cruciate based on the fact that the joint is easily displaced in multiple directions. The quote for her surgery is less than half what we were told to expect at the other vet, at between $1912 and $2124, depending upon how much anesthesia she needs.
They have a board certified orthopedic surgeon who travels to their practice along with several others on a rotation, and they're going to schedule with him and call me. I told them to take the first available slot and just let me know so that there's no phone tag that loses us our place in line.
I did ask her about the few things I'd read about dogs recovering without surgery, and she said sure, but the dog is in pain the entire time, and if it were a human they'd consider it malpractice to not perform a repair and let the human hobble around for 8 months healing on his own. She said it's not at all true that the no-surgery route has better outcomes as is claimed on one particularly high profile site online, and that the doctor they use prefers the "old method" surgery to the new TLPO procedure which involves pins and plates and costs more than twice as much.
I got a much better vibe from this vet as she seems MUCH more genuine and she explained everything in detail and was very candid about why other vets cost much more than she does (profit margins)... altogether I liked her a great deal and I trust her with my dog.
So... that's it. Molly will need physical therapy that we can do at home, and they recommend crating 23 hours a day while she recovers, but there's no chance in Hell of that because Molly is claustrophobic. Luckily, she's a generally sedate dog. We just have to keep her from jumping up on furniture or the windows when the mailman comes.
We can fund with CareCredit if we have to but I'm going to try to avoid it as much as possible because of the very unfavorable terms.
I'm going to be transferring all of my animals to this new vet. It was night and day with our usual vet. I have a much better feeling about her.
Molly was examined by TWO licensed veterinarians today to verify her diagnosis prior to scheduling surgery at a cost of $25. I haven't paid so little for a thorough vet examination since the late 80s.
