Surgery

First I just want to thank everyone for the information they have posted. I've been sitting here all morning reading some of these posts which have helped immensely.

I just found out a few days ago that both my dogs have the chiari malformation. Ginger has some compression and Charley well his is more significant, spinal fluid has forced itself into the spinal cord. I'm taking them to see the neurologist for a follow-up appointment in 3 weeks I'm sure I'll get a better understanding of what needs to be done then.

But my question is for those that had the surgery roughly how much was it? Unfortunately, I do not have pet insurance. I know that the neurologist wants to speak to me about surgery for Ginger and not Charley since he's the one that is showing no symptoms but has it the worse. I can't figure that out?

Any info. would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Riley's decompression surgery in June cost around $3300. Unfortunately, I had no pet insurance either. But, you do what you have to do for these babies. I feel fortunate that we could afford it without too much hardship. Good luck to you. Let us know what happens when you see the neurologist in 3 weeks.

I'm sorry you got those results back from MRIs. Are they related?

One of the oddities of the condition is that sometimes dogs that seem less affected show more symptoms. But this is true for humans as well. Indeed far fewer dogs show symptoms with just the malformation alone, whereas in humans, more people have symptoms with the malformation than with both CM and SM.

Whether to have the surgery is a decision with many dimensions and it isn't the only option, though it sometimes may be the best option for the best longer term prognosis, especially for symptomatic SM in young dogs. But just be aware that it isn't a cure, and there aren't many studies of the long term results with the surgery, and none at all with the cranioplasty (this is the mesh surgery which has only been done for a couple of years now). The bigger picture and all options are something to discuss with your neurologist.

If you have a kennel club registrations for them (AKC or CKCSC) their scan information and registration info would be very important for the work Sarah Blott is doing in the UK. Also be sure to inform the breeder as this is important information for their breeding programme. Generally I recommend sending a registered letter just so that you can confirm it has been received.

Just to clarify - Riley had the cranioplasty with a titanium mesh implant. I don't know if that's more expensive than decompression surgery without the implant. Six months post-op, she's doing really well.

I think it is a bit more.

Thanks

Love my Cavaliers said:

Riley's decompression surgery in June cost around $3300. Unfortunately, I had no pet insurance either. But, you do what you have to do for these babies. I feel fortunate that we could afford it without too much hardship. Good luck to you. Let us know what happens when you see the neurologist in 3 weeks.

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Thanks, I will.