Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat, with answers about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery from many years of member experiences.
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debva said
OT but related -- would it be okay to start a similar thread to have people who do have insurance share not only what it cost them, but what their insurance co. actually paid?
Yes, by ll means, feel free to start that topic in this forum. Thanks!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Figured I would add ours even though we haven't decided what type of chemo to do.
Amputation Costs
- What city/state/country/date did your Tripawd have the amputation? Pilesgrove, New Jersey
- Total cost of surgery? $2,000 almost to the penny (included 3 xrays with anesthesia a week before surgery to verify it was a tumor, then total surgery with amputation, anesthesia, meds, bandages and post op visit).
- Private practice or teaching hospital? Private veterinary practice (tri country vet)
Chemotherapy Costs (Not sure if this is the route we are going yet but these are our estimates)
- What size is your dog? 60 pounds
- Type of chemo given? Palladia
- # of sessions? Lifetime meds monday, wed, fri 2x a day of 15mg
- Total cost of treatments? Approx $250 every 5 weeks plus $90 for blood panel checks first week, second week, and then the rest depends on what her levels look like but $90 each check.
- Private practice or teaching hospital? Private practice
That is such great information, thank you for taking time to share.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Amputation Costs
- What city/state/country/date did your Tripawd have the amputation? State College, PA
- Total cost of surgery? Around $2300 - Surgery was a bit more complicated, and it included removing part of the pelvic bone and hip join in addition to the leg
- Private practice or teaching hospital? Private Practice
Chemotherapy Costs
- What kind of cancer does your dog have? Osteosarcoma
- What size is your dog? 75 - 80 lbs before amputation
- Type of chemo given? Carboplatin
- # of sessions? 4-6
- Total cost of treatments? Each is about $600 (includes all blood work, etc.)
- Private practice or teaching hospital? Private Practice
Murphy, became a tripawd on August 17, 2015. Went to the rainbow bridge on July 5, 2016.
Amputation Costs
- What city/state/country/date did your Tripawd have the amputation? Lascassas/TN/USA
- Total cost of surgery? aprox. $3500 (also removed spleen and tumor on top of head)
- Private practice or teaching hospital? Private
Chemotherapy Costs
- What kind of cancer does your dog have? MCT
- What size is your dog? 60 lbs. Labrador
- Type of chemo given? Can't remember.
- # of sessions? Only had 1 session before she passed.
- Total cost of treatments? Can't remember.
- Private practice or teaching hospital? Blue Pearl Franchise
Harmony became a Tripawd on 10/21/14 (MCT). She left us way too soon on 11/1/14.
"We miss you so much; our love, our heart, our Harmony."
- Pam, Ron and Melody, Meesha, Doublestuff and Mariah Carey
This is so, so helpful folks, thank you for taking time to share.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Amputation Costs
- What city/state/country/date did your Tripawd have the amputation? Riverhead, Eastern Long Island, New York
- Total cost of surgery? $3,600 all inclusive (surgery, anesthesia, meds, 2 day/night hospital stay, medical supplies, biopsy of entire limb,etc.) approx. $2,300 before surgery for x rays, surgical exam & consult, blood work, one overnight hospital stay with IV and pain medications
- Private practice or teaching hospital? Private specialty vet practice/emergency center
Chemotherapy Costs No chemo costs at this time until biopsy comes back---there may be no chemo
- What kind of cancer does your dog have? Biopsy pending
- What size is your dog? 28 pound beagle
- Type of chemo given? N/A
- # of sessions? N/A
- Total cost of treatments? N/A
- Private practice or teaching hospital? N/A
Amputation Costs
- What city/state/country/date did your Tripawd have the amputation? Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Total cost of surgery? Since the first x-ray, including biopsies, surgery, other exams (other biopsies of lumps, lung mass, etc) and home care, we have spent around 5000 reais. In today's exchange rate, something like $1300.
- Private practice or teaching hospital? Private practice.
No chemo!
augustaslvr said
Amputation Costs
- What city/state/country/Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Total cost of surgery? In today's exchange rate, something like $1300
Thank you for the international perspective!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Yikes, we were way more expensive, BUT my guy had to have hemipelvectomy, in addition to leg amputation, and had to be in the ICU for 2 days post surgery (which took about 7 hours). They used his leg muscles (he is an AmStaff and has a lot of muscles) to cover his colon and such after removing that half of his pelvis, which will give him a better life long term, but made the surgery take even longer.
Amputation Costs
- What city/state/country/date did your Tripawd have the amputation? Buffalo Grove, Illinois 2/16/2016
- Total cost of surgery? Surgery: $5,500. Surgery, plus the CT to decide what to do, plus the aftercare/icu/stay and meds: $9,600
- Private practice or teaching hospital? Private
Chemotherapy Costs
- What kind of cancer does your dog have? Unkown at this time
- What size is your dog? 75 lbs pre-opt (we only had surgery a week ago, so I have not weighed him post opt)
- Type of chemo given? Unkown
- # of sessions?
- Total cost of treatments?
- Private practice or teaching hospital?
Thanks for sharing your info pittymamma, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.
Please consider posting in 'Share Your Story' or 'Treatment...Ongoing...' and tell us about your boy and the battle you are facing.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
It looks like our costs with Bella have been and will be more expensive than most, too. Glad I didn't read this thread to start with or I would have been shocked at the costs the quoted me. As it was, I had expected to pay around $6000 and it is going to end up about that much.
Amputation Costs
- What city/state/country/date did your Tripawd have the amputation? College Station, Texas
- Total cost of surgery? About $3800, but this included the CT scan, blood work, ultrasound beforehand, plus all lab work, and a 2-night stay in the hospital after. Also included a 20% discount since my son works at the vet school.
- Private practice or teaching hospital? Teaching hospital - Texas A&M University
Chemotherapy Costs
- What kind of cancer does your dog have? Mast cell tumor
- What size is your dog? 46 pounds (49 pounds pre-op)
- Type of chemo given? Not started yet, but planning on Vinblastine
- # of sessions? Recommend 12
- Total cost of treatments? Estimate $2500 ($2000 with our discount)
- Private practice or teaching hospital? Teaching hospital - Texas A&M University
Clyde's Surgery
Amputation
What city/state/country/date did your Tripawd have the amputation? Monrovia, California (Southern California near Pasadena)
- Total cost of surgery? Surgery: $3520 including meds and biopsy of both a lymph node and the bone itself. Diagnosis - I think it was about $800 for x rays and the blood test to see if there was a fungal infection plus office visit cost and senior dog blood panel. So total from the first day I brought him in - about $4320.
- Private practice or teaching hospital? Private
- Just another note - A veterinary oncologist told me that his specialty clinic in my general area charged about $4500 to $5,000 for just the surgery, not including the diagnostic visit.
Thank you for the info, it's super helpful.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Pofi's Experience / Expenses:
Important to note - Pofi does not have Osteo - he had a peripheral nerve sheath tumor, a type of soft tissue sarcoma, located in the brachial plexus. His surgery is a bit more involved - MRI revealed not only was the mass larger than expected (baseball sized as opposed to marble sized and spreading along nerves up toward the spine), but it had also enveloped a lymph node and a rib. He had front forelimb, affected muscle, nerve and other connective tissue removed and the lymph node and part of a rib.
Amputation Costs
- What city/state/country/date did your Tripawd have the amputation? St. Paul / MN / Ramsey Cty / US / May 4, 2016
- Total cost of surgery? $5,113. A whopper - but this included chest x-rays and MRI (required for surgical mapping of tumor in the soft tissues) with anesthesia the day prior and ICU hospitalization starting that night as the manipulation of limb for this imaging caused extreme pain. 65 total hours in ICU before he came home on 5/6/16. And as stated above, limb, rib and lymph node all removed.
- Private practice or teaching hospital? Teaching hospital - University of Minnesota, VMC
Chemotherapy Costs
- What kind of cancer does your dog have? Soft tissue sarcoma, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor, biopsy results show Grade III of III, unusually aggressive (for this type) with regional metastasis to lymph node and incomplete excision (poor and incomplete margins). Poorly differentiated - not well encapsulated mass (leading to the margin issues).
- What size is your dog? 76 lbs pre-amp / 69 lbs post amp
- Type of chemo given? At this point, daily, low dose Cyclophosphamide capsules - this grade and type of cancer infusion chemo not shown in studies to be particularly beneficial. However, upcoming CT to look at another lymph node in chest and lungs again (clear in x-ray one month ago) to determine if there has been remote metastasis. If yes, infusion chemo may be considered. If no, radiation therapy to address the incomplete excision is being considered.
- # of sessions?
- Total cost of treatments? $59.45 monthly - including delivery
- Private practice or teaching hospital? Teaching hospital - University of Minnesota, VMC
Radiotherapy Costs (quoted)
- # of sessions? 18 to 22 on consecutive weekdays
- Total cost of treatments? Total from $8,000 to $9,000 - CT required, possibly 2 CTs - they will try to get lung and lymph node view plust radiation mapping in one CT tomorrow. But if clear lungs and lymph node, but insufficient for radiation planning, then a second - both with GA. ~$1,000 for each CT and radiation would be $6,500 to $7,000.
- Private practice or teaching hospital? Teaching hospital - University of Minnesota, VMC
Lisa, Minneapolis
On October 27, 2016, nearly 6 months after amputation, and 18 months since his cancer likely started, we lost Pofi to a recurrence of Soft Tissue Sarcoma in his spine quite suddenly. His canine sister also succumbed to cancer on March 1, 2019 - we lavished her with our love in the interim, but life was never quite the same without her only real canine friend. Cliff kitty had to leave us, too, suddenly, in August 2019. Lucia kitty grieved all these losses, but helped us welcome two new Lurchers into our home and our lives, Shae and Barley.
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