Reasonable charge for a suture on a dog?

[John Gryphon]

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[Bo Diddley]

Very long time ago out with the Jack Russels, turning over muck middens for rats, my eldest bitch had an eyelid almost completely detached by two rats that were offering resistance, my local vet said bring her straight to the house, (This was Sunday lunchtime), his wife was about to serve the roast but had to wait as the table was occupied with my dog being sutured with a couple of bodies holding on to her. The cost was cash on the day, but wasn't stunning.

The old days. When things moved along at an easier pace.

 

[Scotty99]

If the wound was a few days old and still open they would have had to debride the dead flesh away first and they make good the repair. They would have done this under GA and then sutured the rather larger opening. Probably included antibiotics and a follow up visit and then maybe another to remove the stitches. One of mine had something similar under her front arm pit after being out working, I didn’t notice it until a day or so later. My vet followed the above procedure and charged me about £400. Yes I think you have been over charged.

 

[Hook'N'Bullet]

Its getting to the point where practically everything we do or partake in will need to be insured against,
What happened to the days when we just went about everyday life and when mishaps occurred we bore the cost which were more of a kick in the pants rather than having to face serious unexpected and extortionate costs and fees.

Sure look at your man in another thread trying to claim for what if damages

 

[Buchan]

Something to add to this is that there is a tendancy of vets to do everything they can. There is a horrible phrase "gold standard" implying that one has to do everything because to not do something is considered negligent or unethical. It's nonsense, but with the growth in litigation, happens. So the bill will probably include a pre-anaesthetic blood test and fluids during the anaesthetic. The latter is reasonable, the former has no evidence behind it.
I should have been clearer Pob, I think that fee is is high for a cut of that size.

 

[potshotpat]

I had a dog to our vets a few years ago, which required a major operation. This operation was a touch and go type, the dog being about eleven. I had to ask how much the operation was likely to be to weigh up the cost to the outcome. The vet quoted me xx. Collecting the dog and paying the bill. The bill was double and a bit of the xx. I queried the bill with the receptionist who got back to me saying call back into the practice and the vet would go through the bill item by item. I called back and the vet went through the bill. It added up for him but was nowhere near the original quote to me. Anyway I paid the bill but they had added another £26 for the consultation with the vet for going through the bill. I stopped going to that practice after that. Here's another tip to pet owners, beware practices that have an abundance of student vets they have to practice on something.

 

[Bowland blades]

I had a dog to our vets a few years ago, which required a major operation. This operation was a touch and go type, the dog being about eleven. I had to ask how much the operation was likely to be to weigh up the cost to the outcome. The vet quoted me xx. Collecting the dog and paying the bill. The bill was double and a bit of the xx. I queried the bill with the receptionist who got back to me saying call back into the practice and the vet would go through the bill item by item. I called back and the vet went through the bill. It added up for him but was nowhere near the original quote to me. Anyway I paid the bill but they had added another £26 for the consultation with the vet for going through the bill. I stopped going to that practice after that. Here's another tip to pet owners, beware practices that have an abundance of student vets they have to practice on something.

Not same but similar - just finished me with a practice now looking for another vet , one simple rule in any business is " stand on" the price given or agreed to on both sides of the transaction been using this vets for about 16 years previous

 

[wildfowler.250]

Hi gents

I'm really sorry if this breaches some kind of etiquette.

My Labrador cut her leg on glass last week (I presume). She was still moving around fine and it didn't seem to bother her. I ordinarily sort out minor cuts myself but, although this one stopped bleeding quickly and was clean, it looked a bit wider than I was comfortable with and in a high flex area, so I rang the vet asking if they could give it a couple of stitches. (Picture attached.)

They insisted on using a GA to allow them to work on the wound uninterrupted, which seemed reasonable. She didn't need an overnight stay. She's not on any further drugs, just a daily oral painkiller suspension.

Final bill was £743.72 (reduced from £787.36 after I spotted an overcharge for a snap test). That's over twice what it cost to have her speyed!

Does that seem like a reasonable ball-park cost?
Have I misunderstood the complexities and costs of what seems to me, the completely uneducated, a simple procedure?
Or is the new vet at the practice taking the opportunity to bend me over?

View attachment 306482

I think this has been answered fairly comprehensively on here but I’ll break down my thoughts very quickly.

1) spay / neuters are undercharged relative to the difficulty. This is to encourage neutering / preventative health care and clients generally bond to the practice.

2) A stitch up is generally an extra squeezed in to a day. A spay is planned with a particular time slot . Usually a stitch up will get checked in and done on the day which a lot of people take for granted.

3) Estimates should be discussed at admit. And I would usually say,(depending on the wound) you could try and heal by secondary intention / scabbing over. But it will take longer and you may end up needing the debridement anyway. But at least the client can make the choice.

4) I can’t suture anything for much for less than £600 and then you have additional antibiotics / analgesia for at home. So probably £650-£670 for a smaller wound but this will vary between practices. A lot of practices now have set prices depending on wound size and as employees we don’t personally have wiggle room on this.

Hopefully this helps. I think we always expect that a bill should be cheaper. I don’t think I’ve ever left a car garage and thought ‘that was cheap’. I had an electrician around the other day and I was nearly £90 for the visit for just 15-20 minutes.

It also depends what level of a job you’re doing as well. A fully qualified surgeon, qualified veterinary nurse, theatre and monitoring equipment doesn’t come cheap. Or you could try and do it under sedation in more patchy facilities but I know which one I’d rather for my dog.


Interestingly, I would say most veterinary staff I know, still insure their pets despite some level of staff discount. It adds up for us as well.


Hope the dog is on the mend! Just a few bullet points to try and balance things out.

 

[Bowland blades]

I think this has been answered fairly comprehensively on here but I’ll break down my thoughts very quickly.

1) spay / neuters are undercharged relative to the difficulty. This is to encourage neutering / preventative health care and clients generally bond to the practice.

2) A stitch up is generally an extra squeezed in to a day. A spay is planned with a particular time slot . Usually a stitch up will get checked in and done on the day which a lot of people take for granted.

3) Estimates should be discussed at admit. And I would usually say,(depending on the wound) you could try and heal by secondary intention / scabbing over. But it will take longer and you may end up needing the debridement anyway. But at least the client can make the choice.

4) I can’t suture anything for much for less than £600 and then you have additional antibiotics / analgesia for at home. So probably £650-£670 for a smaller wound but this will vary between practices. A lot of practices now have set prices depending on wound size and as employees we don’t personally have wiggle room on this.

Hopefully this helps. I think we always expect that a bill should be cheaper. I don’t think I’ve ever left a car garage and thought ‘that was cheap’. I had an electrician around the other day and I was nearly £90 for the visit for just 15-20 minutes.

It also depends what level of a job you’re doing as well. A fully qualified surgeon, qualified veterinary nurse, theatre and monitoring equipment doesn’t come cheap. Or you could try and do it under sedation in more patchy facilities but I know which one I’d rather for my dog.


Interestingly, I would say most veterinary staff I know, still insure their pets despite some level of staff discount. It adds up for us as well.


Hope the dog is on the mend! Just a few bullet points to try and balance things out.

Yep ! most important bit is insurance ! This is perhaps the biggest factor in the massive increase in costs involved with using vets. Next to that its the people who buy vet practices ( of course the insurance thing facilitated the massive rise in costs to the client in the first place ) .
I would 100% support any practice that did things the old way but it's like finding hens teeth , yet i will wager in the longer term more practices go bump as investors start to withdraw as its one bubble that is certainly going to burst ! Why? because people will 1. stop having animals 2. have less animals 3. Put fixable injuries into the animal PTS. very close to £700 for the work above ? seriously do people think this sustainable regards the average income persons have available ? they might well pay it now but consider if just 20-30% of pet ownership goes down then 20-30% of vets need to find a new trade
Been there myself selling to a red hot market , its not a problem but it ain't going to last ! Especially with the amount of folks taking that career path at present.
Dog prices are well down at present and so is demand , not surprising really