Bladder surgery cost

[Lizzie15]

I’m after some general advice please on surgery cost.
My piggy Biscuit (male, 3 years) has been diagnosed with bladder stone after an ultrasound and he needs surgery. We have already spent over £300 to get him diagnosed and our vets has now quoted over £800 for surgery! We really can not afford this and it seems very high. Has anyone else had a piggy have similar surgery recently? How much did it cost please? Does this price seem too high? Thanks very much

 

[Siikibam]

I’m sorry your boy is unwell. I think you’re better off ringing around (if you choose to) and see what other vets may charge. There’s also PDSA though I don’t know under what circumstances you’d get help for vet fees.

Wishing you and your boy all the best. And
Vet Locator

 

[Claire W]

That does seem rather high. I’d ring around and see if you can get it any cheaper. Make sure that the vets you choose are familiar with bladder stone surgery though

 

[piggieminder]

Rusty's stone op last January was £2,000. Bracken's was £5,000 the year before, that figure included all the scans and exrays he had beforehand as well though, I can't remember the breakdown. I think your quote is reasonablr! It's going to depend which vet you use and how they work out s. Our vets charge £35 a minute when operating.

 

[Hiitshannah]

That sounds very expensive to me, we haven’t had bladder surgery but Cinnamon had surgery to have an abscess removed which cost around £350 and included a follow up, though I think that is probably a simpler surgery! We are in the south too so usually more expensive

 

[Free Ranger]

I think you might be able to get it a bit cheaper... maybe £5 - 600ish? It will depend on the length of time piggy is under anaesthetic. A few years back I had a piggy op with Abivale and was quoted a price for what they thought was wrong (blockage of the gut) - and when poor Teepee was opened up they immediately realised it was a lot of cancer and pts would be the kindest thing. So the op was actually a lot quicker then they thought and obviously there was no aftercare - but the cost was the same. I was too upset to think about it at the time and in fact only thought about it years later when my current vet (The Veterinary Practice in Henley) talked about pricing for ops as depending on how long anesthetic needs to be maintained etc. They will give you a general idea but will warn that (1) it depends on the complexity of the situation and (2) some pigs just don't survive because of the shock of surgery. My Panda got through his op but died that evening at home. (3) They will probably also tell you that some pigs do get another stone pretty quickly if they are 'stone formers' although a careful look at piggy lifestyle might be able to make this less likely. Some of them keep/have kept pigs themselves and I do trust them to be honest and fair - they are very open about the pricing, even for the 24hr nursing care if that is needed. For instance, when we've needed x-rays they will try to do it without a general anaesthetic by swaddling the patient firmly in a towel. Better/quicker for piggy, cheaper for owner. The waiting room was always full of cats and dogs but I'm happy with them for my pigs - they were the first vet I had who offered metacam as a painkiller to take home for piggies ("guinea-pig calpol"). I'd never heard mention of it from 3 previous practices! if you phone up ask for a vet with guinea-pig experience. There are the permanent vets and some that come in for experience and then move on but the receptionists know who does what. Good luck Biscuit, it's a horrid situation to be in x