Co-Pilot's lump update

So the vet said it doesn't look like a MCT, or the types of lump to worry about, BUT he said to watch it and if it grows or does not go away with Muricin ointment then he may as well take it off and get it tested, He said this because she needs a dental anyway, pretty badly and I already knew that :) Her breath has been getting worse and her teeth are visibly icky, poor thing.

I have tried brushing her teeth, but as you can imagine she is not a big fan of it, so I just gave up. But I had this light bulb go off in my head, just like the dremel or crate training, I can't expect her to be find of the idea all at once, but I COULD train her slowly to adjust to letting me do it. Mission one: Get her to like the toothpaste and let her lick a little off my finger each night. Once she likes that

So here is the thing. The estimate for the dental was $330, fine, that includes anesthesia, monitor O2 sat, HR/Respirator, etc during the procedure. I'm okay with that quote, BUT extractions are extra (could be $200ish depending on how many), fine, but the killer?

To remove the lump WHILE SHE IS ALREADY OUT $200
Pathology $169

Does that seem STEEP to you? The thing is, I can get a second opinion, but I really liked the vet and his staff, they were SO sweet with CP. And really, I will never forgive myself if I go to some moron vet and something happens to her during the procedure.

Now we aren't in a rush to get the lump removed, BUT seeing this estimate makes me wonder if I should look for a different vet or stay with him. Today's exam, meds and her rabies shot was $112, which is what I would have expect to pay.

But her dental with lump removal could be $1000? Yikes!

Seems about right to me, Sara. Lola's dental--6 teeth removed--ran me about 1200.

Histopathology is pricey.

I know my vet is very reasonable when it comes to certain things (he's much less expensive than the pricey vet I grew up going to--whose office is in a wealthy town here).

This is info. from 2 years ago or so when Wally had his dental, so I'm sure the cost has gone up a bit, as everything else has. (Wally was only 3 at the time, so he didn't need blood work):

The expensive vet here charges about $225 just for the dental;
the vet I go to, b/c he specializes in brachycephalic breeds charges
$85--more if there are extractions, which Wally had (but I don't think
it was very much per tooth...let me see if I have an itemized
bill...yep, I do...and it was 6 teeth for $35...pretty inexpensive
there). There were also 3 other charges, about $15/each for pain shots
and other misc. stuff, so the total was really more like $165.

That was just for the teeth.

The lump removal, b/c it is surgery, doesn't sound out of line to me.

northernwitch wrote:Seems about right to me, Sara. Lola's dental--6 teeth removed--ran me about 1200.

Histopathology is pricey.

Same here, ours charged by the extraction too, and Hooli's dental plus lump removal was right around 1100, I think.

And Indy needs his done soon, OUCH!!

Most vets charge by the extraction--the more teeth, the higher the cost. And the lumpectomy is a whole separate dealio--you're looking at a deeper anaesthesia and a more invasive procedure than a dental.

Histopathology up here is usually about 150 to 200.

I haven't had a lump removed...but two of my pugs just had dentals. They each had one extraction as well, and the total was $500. Since we did this in February, we got 10% off for dental health month.

My Ichiro needs a lump removed from right in front of his leg joint. The lump is just fatty matter, it has alread be aspirated twice. The vet told me it would cost about the same as a dental, $250-$300.

I am moving to where you guys live. I have had 4 dentals done this summer, none less than $2000 each. Had 3 bladder stone surgeries............cheapest one $2600. Lux Pat surgery..........$2100 lots more, but you get the idea.

I think Zoe's dental was only $200. thank DOG she didn't need any extractions!

sara - I meant to reply earlier...Zoe had a little bump under her arms a few weeks ago and it went away. how big is it? I might wait on that and just get the dental done. OR, schedule the dental for a week or two out and decide if you want to do the removal later. who knows, it might be gone.

Sara,

My son and DIL are in Portland OR. They used the vet my daughter works for and got the "family" discount. His dental started out at $400 and ended up being an additional 200+ for extractions and then had 2 small benign cysts removed. One off his eyelid that they had not even seen and one on his lip.

Total for the day $1300 + meds.

good luck with her dental. It makes me so nervous to put them under for anything.

I guess there is no need for a 2nd opinion, because I loved the office and vet. *Sigh* But the total will surely be pushing $1000 because there are also pain meds, etc to add to that total.

Not saying we can't afford this, but it was MUCH easier for me to spend $1000 in a day on CP when I was working too. But she will get what she needs and something else will wait.

Thanks for telling me about Zoe's lump Mel, our plan right now is to watch it for several weeks and re-evaluate. If it doesn't budge or gets bigger, I'll have it taken off and get her dental done. I also hate putting them under, but her teeth really do need it, and I tried the no anesthesia teeth cleaning guy, it didn't help.

When it rains it pours, I scheduled Carter's MRI and EEG today, and we'll be paying for those also because we haven't met our $4k deductible yet....too bad I can't put Co-Pilot on the Blue Shield or at least deduct the expenses through our flexible health account, LOL

Sara, is the lump too small to stick a needle in? Both times E had lumps, and once with Wally, the vet was able to get some cells out with a needle/syringe and look at them under the microscope. He could tell immediately if they were MCTs or benign.

That being said, Wally has one on his wrinkle that he's told me a few times would be good to take off (I need to ask again why), but he also agreed it wasn't worth putting him under for since it's benign.

I just scheduled Gracie's dental today and it's going to run me $120, however, they are running a special on dentals. Emma just had hers cleaned a few months ago and it was $230. I don't know about your vet clinic but ours goes by "grades". If their teeth are not terrible and not much cleaning is needed, then it is cheaper and it goes up from there. Both Gracie and Emma are a level 1. I know nothing about the lump thing so I have no advice on that. Just glad to hear it's nothing to be too concerned about.

Sara, I was going to let you know that ours was 1100 but Hooli also had a lot of extractions, I think I forgot to add that in my other post. Usually if it's just a cleaning, it's not as bad but they can't always tell how many (if any) teeth will be pulled until they get in there, so I always expect the worst (because with my gang, it usually ends up that way!). We did the same thing, we waited a couple of weeks to see if it would go away or not before we scheduled everything.

The dental price seems about average but the extra $200 to remove the lump does seem a little steep to me (since she'll be knocked out already anyway). Buster had a fatty lump removed when he had his dental done a year or two ago but I don't remember off the top of my head what the charge was. I'll have to look when I get home tonight.

I need to get out Genie and Dora's papers from where they had dentals, but I'm pretty sure they each ran me about $500 + pain meds. Genie had a baby tooth taken out and Dora didn't have any extractions so there was a price difference in the two due to that. We also made a special trip to the only vet in the area who will do cleanings under "light anesthesia" so that actually saved us a bit of money even though we did it b/c I felt better about them not being fully knocked out and not because of the cost.

Alaska pet dentals START at $500, and go up from there depending on what else they do and how many extractions...

Bozlee needs a dental, soon, I am saving my pennies.

Oh, did the $330 estimate include pre-bloodwork? My vet won't put any of the pugs under until he's don't a full blood panel (to look for problems) ahead of time.

He also starts them on antibiotics ahead of a dental, about 1-2 weeks ahead of time.

That could be why our dentals cost so much more. (The blood panel)

Maryjo wrote:Oh, did the $330 estimate include pre-bloodwork? My vet won't put any of the pugs under until he's don't a full blood panel (to look for problems) ahead of time.

He also starts them on antibiotics ahead of a dental, about 1-2 weeks ahead of time.

That could be why our dentals cost so much more. (The blood panel)

Nope, $330 was just the dental alone, the actual estimate was $650-$100 range with blood work, pain meds, possible extractions, etc.
He won't put her under without the blood panel either and I am grateful for that!

Oh and the lump is hard, so it can't be aspirated for a sample. At this time the lump does not HAVE to come off, but she really DOES need the dental. So it's a matter of timing the dental for a time that we know if the lump is going to go away, or if it needs to come off at the same time.

Maryjo wrote:Alaska pet dentals START at $500, and go up from there depending on what else they do and how many extractions...

Bozlee needs a dental, soon, I am saving my pennies.

MJ - just had my guys (Skeeter & Tobey) dentals done at Highland (where Vickie goes too), and it was $500 for both of them together! They had the blood panel done too, which was an additional $40 about a week before the dentals. I wonder why there is such a difference?

Renee wrote:

Maryjo wrote:Alaska pet dentals START at $500, and go up from there depending on what else they do and how many extractions...

Bozlee needs a dental, soon, I am saving my pennies.

MJ - just had my guys (Skeeter & Tobey) dentals done at Highland (where Vickie goes too), and it was $500 for both of them together! They had the blood panel done too, which was an additional $40 about a week before the dentals. I wonder why there is such a difference?

I don't know, Reneé. I know Vickie likes them, and maybe it is less because they are a family business? I've been there once, and honestly, I wasn't impressed, but that could just be me.

Maryjo wrote:
I don't know, Reneé. I know Vickie likes them, and maybe it is less because they are a family business? I've been there once, and honestly, I wasn't impressed, but that could just be me.

Maybe it is because they are a family business? I don't know. They used to have this one vet working there...can't remember his name, but I didn't like him much. Now, it is just Dr. Tuomi and his daughter working there, and I really like them. They're offices aren't much to look at, nothing fancy in the waiting room or anything, but that is probably why they can keep costs down so much too.

I guess we all have to feel good about where we go. I used to be at VCA - and I was not impressed with them.

Winston's dental ran $500 with 5 extractions and the senior bloodwork panel since he has neuro problems. This included an extra half hour under so the extractions could be done. The prices you've been quoted don't seem too bad.

Sounds like you have a good plan to monitor and treat this Sara.