Cost of MRI and SM Surgery?

[Rosewoodsteel]

Doe's anyone know what SM surgery would cost in the US?
In the event it is ever needed (heaven forbid) it would be good for us to know.

[Lynn]

In the post that Bridam made on March 11th, he said he had 8k invested....now I don't have any idea if that is typical, but my eyes nearly popped out of my head when I read it!!! here is the link:

http://board.cavaliertalk.com/showth...t=22528&page=7

[Karlin]

In the US, the low cost MRIs are only available from LIVS in Long Island and are only for breeding purposes --this wouldn't really be adequate for a diagnostic MRI for surgery generally. SO an MRI is more likely to be around $800-2000 in the US, average about $1250. Surgery would be at least a few thousand depending on how complicated it is and who does it. LIVS does a more involved surgery. Inserting shunts as well as the decompression would also cost more. So the answer is -- there is not general answer as the surgery and time involved would vary for every dog and vary by surgeon, part of the US, etc.

[Molly's mom]

I live in NW Pennsylvania and our cost of an MRI was $1475. The initial SM surgery by Dr. Dewey at Cornell University (mind you a teaching hospital so costs are generally a bit lower) was around $3600 but we incurred unexpected additional expenses totaling an additional $2000 or so.

Molly had severe post operative pain which required two additional hospital stays, testing and a boat load of medications. While these complications are not common, they can happen so you want consider all possibilities.

[Karlin]

How is Molly doing now?

[Bridam]

In the post that Bridam made on March 11th, he said he had 8k invested....now I don't have any idea if that is typical, but my eyes nearly popped out of my head when I read it!!! here is the link:

http://board.cavaliertalk.com/showth...t=22528&page=7

Yep. So did my eyes! The MRI was $1,500 and that was cheaper than the other places in Dallas that wanted over $2,000. The surgery was $6,000 for decompression and a shunt. I think the surgery would have been closer to $3,000 for just decompression.

[Molly's mom]

Karlin, Molly's doing well. Thanks for asking As far as I know she has shown no signs of progression even though there are times I drive myself crazy looking for them. It's hard to compare "before" and "after" the surgery. I don't know if it's my memory or the fact that she was diagnosed and progressing rapidly in the dead of winter so I wasn't able to see how she did on long walks or in hot weather etc.

We've had to get creative with her harness as she has zero tolerance for anything touching the left side of her neck. She's still on gabapentin and I am in the process of trying prilosec. She's a couple pounds heavier than I would like so we are addressing that. I think her becoming "full grown" around the same time of her surgery and plying her with countless meds wrapped in whatever would work, played a big part in her less than optimal waistline. It looks as if spring may finally be arriving in my neck of the woods so we will be able to get out more.

She will be 3 on April 25th and we are just thrilled at how well she is doing

[Molly's mom]

Molly enjoying a March snow storm

[Cathy T]

What an adorable picture of Molly!!! Look at all of those snowballs. Glad Spring is headed your way so you all can get out and get active. So good to hear she's doing well.

[Spencer'sMom]

Rosewood, we live in Northern Virginia and had our MRI at the IAMS Pet Imaging Center in Vienna last January. It was $1,500. Our neurologist, Dr. Jay McDonnell, now has a machine at his practice, Dogs and Cats Veterinary Referral (located in Bowie) and charges $1,950. Hope that helps.