Pet Surgery Pricing

The cranial cruciate ligament (CCL), also known as anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in humans, is found in the knee (called the stifle in pets). When this ligament is torn, an abnormal shearing force occurs causing pain and arthritis over time. The lateral suture surgical technique places a false ligament on the outside of the joint to stabilize the knee allowing return of function and slowing the progression of arthritis. Pets must have strict rest post-op to allow scar tissue to form.  Crate rest is the only way to ensure pets will lie still and rest. A crate is required, and the pet must stay in the crate, other than to go to the bathroom, for the first 2 weeks. It is up to you to keep your pet calm and under control. It is the pushing off / accelerating forward/ jumping motion that can cause your pet to damage the repair. Even after the crate rest period, no exercise should be allowed for 6 weeks. Pets must stay on a short leash when outside and under control at all times to prevent above mentioned movements. Crate rest should be used for a longer period if your pet will not behave calmly out of the crate after the first 2 weeks. Learn More and Watch our ACL Video (Cruciate ligament repair done with the lateral suture technique)

The most common reasons for amputations include growths, trauma, and dislocation. Pets are not vain and do not care how they look as long as they continue to receive love. Pets do very well with only 3 legs.

Canine Amputations $700 for 25 lbs and under; $1025 for 26 lbs to 89 lbs; $1250 for 90 lbs and above

Feline Amputations $550

The most common reasons for tail amputations include growths, trauma, and malformations.

The most common reasons for toe amputations include growths and trauma.

Bloat is a surgical emergency to untwist the stomach that has been twisted and distended with gas and fluid. It occurs when a deep chested dog’s stomach fills with fluid or food and then twists and begins to distend with gas. When the stomach twists, it pulls the spleen along with it and can cause shock and then death. The first goal is to relieve the gas and fluid. Next, we surgically untwist the stomach and spleen and remove any permanently damaged tissues. Finally, we tack the stomach to the body wall so that it cannot twist again. A preventative stomach tack can be performed early in life (usually at the same time as a spay /neuter) to reduce the risk of this life threatening situation (gastropexy).

Animals have 3 eyelids. The same two lids (upper and lower) that we have, and a third that crosses from the nose side. This third eyelid contains a gland that produces tears to keep the eye moist. When this gland becomes inflamed, it swells and has the appearance of a cherry sitting in the corner of the eye. The inflammation is usually caused by infection or irritation from hair, dust, etc. It is important to keep the hair trimmed around the eyes to help decrease irritation.

To remove a cherry eye, we remove a portion of the gland so that enough gland is preserved to still make tears but not enough to swell outside of the pocket it normally resides in. It is extremely rare for dry eye to occur after a cherry eye repair, but if it occurs, moisturizing drops will be needed long term. We do not “tack” cherry eyes at Helping Hands.

A Subtotal colectomy is the surgical removal of the non-functioning colon that results in prolonged retention of feces (constipation/ megacolon). This procedure reconnects the remaining intestine by carefully suturing it together. Subtotal colectomy shortens the transit time for stool and is the last effort to reduce the chance for constipation and may not be completely curative. While it is often considered when all medical management efforts have been unsuccessful, it should be expected that subtotal colectomy patients may still require the same or similar medical management treatments long-term. 

A cystotomy is the medical term for opening the urinary bladder to remove either stones or a growth. Urinary bladder stones in dogs and cats are commonly caused by chronic low grade urinary tract infections and/or the way your pet metabolizes the mineral contents of its food and water.

Even as the most dedicated pet owner, you may not realize your pet has a urinary tract infection or bladder stones because it is against your pet’s nature to complain. You may not even be aware that there is a problem until they are having accidents in the house or urinating blood.

Sadly, because of this, we perform cystotomies on a regular basis here at Helping Hands.

Bladder stones in dogs or cats are detected most commonly by x-ray, but can also be found with ultrasound or, if there are many stones, your vet may simply find them by palpating the bladder with their hands. We will need a copy of your veterinarian’s medical notes and x-rays before getting you on our schedule. So please have your vet e mail or fax those notes and x-rays of your pet to us. All male dogs ($55) and cats ($35) are required to be neutered either prior to or at the time of the cystotomy procedure.

Learn More and Watch our Cystotomy Video

Cryptorchid means a retained testicle that has not fallen into the scrotal sac. When this occurs, it is found either in the inguinal region or in the abdomen. No matter where the testicles are found, they are both removed when your pet is neutered.

NEUTER – CRYPTORCHID – $375 (per retained testicle) 

NEUTER – CRYPTORCHID –  50lbs or more – $625 (per retained testicle) 

C-SECTION

Helping Hands can not guarantee same day emergency surgeries. Our availability is dependent on hospital caseload and staffing. If your pet is in need of an emergency surgery, we recommend looking into local 24 hour emergency veterinary hospitals in your area.

We require a veterinarian’s recommendation for a c-section and an x-ray to determine if our hospital is able to accommodate. X-rays are essential in helping to providing us a puppy count to determine the amount of staff needed to help keep your pet as safe as possible.

Dystocia $855.00 requires spay  during normal business hours – diagnosed by a licensed veterinarian providing medical records recommending immediate surgery in an attempt to save mother.

Planned C-Section $2855.00 – spay will be at doctors discretion based on the health of your pet’s uterus during surgery.  

If a C-section is needed after hours, we may or may not be able to accommodate and pull together a team, feel free to give us a call. The rate including blood work is $1,840 for a dystocia that has been diagnosed by a licensed veterinarian providing medical records recommending immediate surgery in an attempt to save mother. The price for a planned c- section after hours including blood work is $3,645.00 without spay assuming our veterinarian is able to save the uterus – in some instances, the uterus can be compromised and an emergency spay may be required.

A C-section is performed when a pet cannot deliver babies naturally, either because they are too big, malpositioned, or there are too many babies. 

Learn More and Watch our Dental Video

(includes bloodwork, anesthesia, teeth cleaning, extractions of any teeth visually decayed or loose, and medications if necessary)

Helping Hands is pleased to announce that we are now offering the option of dental radiographs for your pet!  Radiographs are beneficial in allowing us to visualize the parts of your pet’s teeth that are underneath the gumline.  Being able to see this area allows a better assessment of the overall oral health of your pet.  Some of the conditions radiographs allow us to assess include, but are not limited to: bone loss, tooth resorption, tumors, retained roots and fractures.  Full mouth radiographs before and after a dental procedure can help diagnose pre-existing problems and ensure that all problem teeth are fully addressed.

Learn More and Watch our Dental Video

(includes bloodwork, anesthesia, teeth cleaning, extractions of any teeth visually decayed or loose, and medications if necessary)

Dewclaws are residual thumbs. The dewclaw nails do not make contact with the ground and tend to grow around and back into the paw if they are not kept trimmed. They can be found on either the front or rear paws, attached by bone or loosely hanging. Not all dogs have dewclaws.

They are most often removed due to nail entrapment, infection, or if owners are unable to keep the nails trimmed. If they are loose and detached the fee is $175.  If they are connected by bone, the price is $475, the same price as a toe amputation.

Entropion is a rolling in of the eyelids leading the lashes to rub on the eyeball. This can cause minor irritation up to severe corneal ulcerations. The number of affected lids depends on your pet’s anatomy. A minor nip-tuck of the eyelid will allow the lid to unroll and relieve the irritation to the eye. It is best to slightly overcorrect the lid so that any future irritation will not allow the lid to roll back in. You may see a bit of pink in your pet’s eye once the lids are corrected. This is simply the conjunctiva around your pet’s eye. Sometimes visibility of the pink area will subside as the swelling goes down, other times you may continue to see the pink area. This is cosmetic only and will not negatively affect your pet. The fee for correction is per lid, not per eye. One to four lids can be affected.

Enucleation is removal of the eye ball. There are many reasons that the eye ball needs removal. Trauma, glaucoma, and cancer are the 3 most common reasons. When the eye is removed, the lids are closed and sealed. Hair will regrow over the area and the skin will usually lie flat. Pets compensate well with only one eye.

When we explore the abdomen, we look for unknown causes of your pet’s illness and attempt to fix it if we find something that is operable. We will have you leave a contact number for us so we can discuss our findings, options and prognosis based on what we find on exploration. An exploratory surgery is usually indicated when all other less invasive means of diagnosis have been exhausted.  Many times we offer this surgery as a tool for diagnosis. In some cases, we are not able to fix what we find.

$1200 is the price to open and explore the abdomen. Additional fees may be required if samples need to be obtained and/or sent to the lab. In many cases, multiple samples are required for a diagnosis and multiple biopsy fees should be accounted for when you’re considering surgery.

GROWTH REMOVAL- EXTRA LARGE (greater than 5 inches in length) – $875

GROWTH REMOVAL – LARGE ( 3 – 5 inches) – $655

GROWTH REMOVAL – MEDIUM (1 – 3 inches) – $425

GROWTH REMOVAL – SMALL (less than 1 inch) – $175

MAMMARY CHAIN REMOVAL (EACH) – $ 1095  Requires spay in addition (See pricing for spay)

Growths can appear anywhere on your pet’s body and can grow from many different cell types. Some are slow growing and some can grow quite quickly. Either way, any abnormal lump or bump should be checked by your veterinarian. A needle biopsy (a very small sample taken with a needle) can help determine the type of growth and if removal is indicated. This will be done by your regular full service veterinarian. If a larger sample is needed, or you simply want the growth removed, we can remove the growth and send the entire piece of tissue to the lab with the results sent to your full service veterinarian for review and follow up care. If the cell type is unknown prior to surgery or if the growth is suspicious for cancer, we will make every effort to achieve clean margins of skin around the growth. Therefore the incision will appear larger than the actual growth was. There are some areas of the body where the skin will not allow for clean margins and only a debulking of the mass can be achieved.  Drainage tubes and bandages may be used post- op depending on the location and size of the growth. Instructions for care will be sent home with you.

Please keep in mind that growth removal pricing is based on the size of the incision necessary to remove the growth and hopefully achieve “clean margins,” not on the size of the growth itself. There are some areas of the body where the skin will not allow for clean margins and only a debulking of the mass can be achieved. If the growth was deemed benign prior to surgery, removing this extra margin of skin will not be necessary. If your veterinarian has not determined this, we will attempt to achieve “clean margins” meaning we will attempt to get as much as the mass off with as much visually healthy tissue as possible so if it is something scary like cancer, we get as much of it as possible.

Growths can appear anywhere on your pet’s body and can grow from many different cell types. Some are slow growing and some can grow quite quickly. Either way, any abnormal lump or bump should be checked by your veterinarian. A needle biopsy (a very small sample taken with a needle) can help determine the type of growth and if removal is indicated. This will be done by your regular full service veterinarian. If a larger sample is needed, or you simply want the growth removed, we can remove the growth and send the entire piece of tissue to the lab with the results sent to your full service veterinarian for review and follow up care. If the cell type is unknown prior to surgery or if the growth is suspicious for cancer, we will make every effort to achieve clean margins of skin around the growth. Therefore the incision will appear larger than the actual growth was. There are some areas of the body where the skin will not allow for clean margins and only a debulking of the mass can be achieved.  Drainage tubes and bandages may be used post- op depending on the location and size of the growth. Instructions for care will be sent home with you.

Please keep in mind that growth removal pricing is based on the size of the incision necessary to remove the growth and hopefully achieve “clean margins,” not on the size of the growth itself. There are some areas of the body where the skin will not allow for clean margins and only a debulking of the mass can be achieved. If the growth was deemed benign prior to surgery, removing this extra margin of skin will not be necessary. If your veterinarian has not determined this, we will attempt to achieve “clean margins” meaning we will attempt to get as much as the mass off with as much visually healthy tissue as possible so if it is something scary like cancer, we get as much of it as possible.  

HERNIA REPAIR (INGUINAL) – $550

HERNIA REPAIR (UMBILICAL) – $325

HERNIA REPAIR (BODY WALL) – $1,200

Helping Hands does not offer mesh for hernia repairs.

A nephrectomy is removal of the kidney. Animals, just like humans, have 2 kidneys, but can live with only one as long as it functions well. The most common reason for removal of the kidney is cancer or damage to the ureter (the tube that empties the kidney into the urinary bladder).

NEUTER – CAT (in addition to other procedure) – $35

NEUTER – CAT – $100

NEUTER – DOG (in addition to other procedure 89lbs or less) – $75

NEUTER – DOG (in addition to other procedure 90lbs or more) – $175

NEUTER – DOG 89lbs or less – $225

NEUTER – DOG 90lbs or more – $355

NEUTER – CRYPTORCHID – $375 (per retained testicle) 

NEUTER – CRYPTORCHID –  50lbs or more – $625 (per retained testicle) 

SCROTAL ABLATION – (this is the price when added to a stand alone neuter) $275

• If a tumor is present, this price may increase.

Neuter is the term used for removing the testicles in a male pet. The scrotal sac is retained and will usually shrink on its own over time. If you would like to have the scrotal sac removed, please discuss prior to scheduling with us, the fee for a scrotal ablation is posted above. This procedure is recommended for young pets as a preventative measure, not only to prevent pet overpopulation, but for many behavioral and medical reasons as well. Retained testicles, testicular cancer, testicular torsion, prostate cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia, perineal hernias (due to straining from an enlarged prostate), and increased incidence of UTIs and urinary bladder stone formation. This list contains the most common medical concerns in unneutered males that we see on a daily basis.

A PU is the medical term, in cats, for shortening and widening the penis to make a larger opening for your cat to be able to urinate through to help decrease the chance of repeat urinary blockages. Medical management and working closely with your veterinarian after surgery is imperative.

All cats are required to be neutered ($35) either prior to or at the time of this procedure.

We require your veterinarian to rule out bladder stones via an x-ray or ultrasound (sometimes both are needed) prior to this surgery to determine if stones are present in the bladder and/or urethra. In some cases, a cystotomy is required in addition to a perineal urethrostomy.  Learn more about Perineal Urethrostomy

Pyometra is a life threatening infection of the uterus. If left untreated, the uterus can rupture and your pet will die. Early spaying is recommended to prevent this life threatening condition. Pyometra most commonly occurs in an unspayed pet within a few weeks of your pet being in heat.

SPAY – CAT – $125 (in addition to other procedure)

SPAY – CAT – $200

SPAY – DOG – $275 (in addition to other procedure under 89lbs)

SPAY – DOG – $325 (in addition to other procedure 90lbs or more)

SPAY – DOG – $450 under 89lbs

SPAY – DOG – $650  90lbs or more

If your pet is in heat – Pyometra pricing will apply. ($575)

Spay is the term used for removal of the uterus and ovaries. This procedure is usually recommended for young pets as a preventative measure, not only to prevent pet overpopulation, but for many medical reasons as well. Pyometra (infected uterus, a life threatening condition), uterine and ovarian cancer, prolapsed uterus or vagina, dystocia (puppies trapped in the birth canal requiring emergency c- section), and breast cancer (85% higher incident in unspayed females). This list contains the most common medical concerns in unspayed females that we see on a daily basis.

Splenectomy is removal of the spleen. The spleen is an abdominal organ involved in the production and removal of blood cells and forms part of the immune system. Other organs take over these functions if the spleen is removed. The most common reasons we remove spleens are due to trauma (splenic rupture), cancer, and splenic torsion (twisting of the spleen cutting off blood supply). Some patients may require blood transfusions before, during or even after a splenectomy. Helping Hands does not offer blood products. 

Stomach tacking is a preventative surgery to reduce the chance of bloat. Bloat is a surgical emergency to untwist the stomach that has been distended with gas and fluid. It occurs when a deep chested dog’s stomach fills with fluid or food and then twists and begins to distend with gas. When the stomach twists, it pulls the spleen along with it and can cause shock and then death. When the stomach is tacked preventatively, it will be unable to twist, therefore reduce the chance of the life threatening emergency known as bloat.

Excessive skin folds around the vagina can lead to chronic skin irritation and urinary tract infections. Removing this excess skin through surgery allows air to circulate and keeps debris from getting trapped between skin folds. This makes for a much happier and more comfortable pet.

It is a requirement at Helping Hands that your pet be spayed for this surgery. See spay pricing if necessary.

Most often the vagina will prolapse when a dog is in heat due to swelling of uterine tissue or the presence of a mass. We require a spay for these pets to bring them out of heat faster so that the swelling will potentially improve. See spay pricing for details. 

Should treatment beyond a spay be necessary, pricing will be determined in person.

WOUND / LACERATION REPAIR – LARGE (greater than 5 inches) – $525

WOUND / LACERATION REPAIR – MEDIUM (2 – 5 inches) – $325

WOUND / LACERATION REPAIR – SMALL (less than 2 inches) – $175

Wounds have many causes, sizes, and locations. They are usually treated by cleaning, debriding (removal of damaged tissue), and closing/suturing the wound. A drain may be placed in a wound if there is concern for fluid build-up under the skin. Instructions for care will be sent home with you.