Vet needed

Hi I am needing a vet anywhere in UK who could operate on my sons dog and not charge the earth. My dog was diagnosed with a rare cancer in the jaw and our vet said it needed a specialist to do the operation. The cancer doesn't spread and stays in the same place. He is a young dog only four.  Our insurance won't pay out for it so we need to find the money ourselves but it's £10,000 what we were quoted which is an awful lot of money to find. The dog means everything to my son the owner and just wondered if anyone knows of vets that may give a more reasonable price. Thanks for reading.

It's one of the frustrations of veterinary practice that high quality, orthopaedic surgery is expensive to provide - the kit, the support staff, anaesthetics, the time / training / expertise of the specialist.  Living in the UK in particular, most people never see the costs of their own medical / surgical bills so it is always a shock to see the market price of veterinary orthopaedics, even though specialist veterinary orthopaedic surgeons are paid considerably less than their medical counterparts.

The upshot of this is that many owners feel 'priced out' of providing the care that they would like to provide for their pet, particularly at the top end.  This can feel horrible and I hear this - it is also one of the biggest frustrations that we face.  The suicide count in veterinary medicine is high and one frequently cited contributing factor is that clinicians are unable to provide the client with the service they want to provide.

So: what can be done about this?  Sometimes, as a vet, I have appreciated clients saying to me 'Do you know, I just don't have the money to fund this.' I promise that I have never been silently judging them, or blaming them, when they have said this.  We know - we do know - what a difficult position clients are in and we (as a profession) find it as difficult as you do that such a situation exists.  Furthermore, there are people high up in the NHS also having to make incredibly difficult decisions regarding what healthcare is available for people.  It may not seem true, but the people treating your dog on a personal level will also just wish that all of this didn't exist, so that they could just get on with making your pet better (it's why we all signed up).

All that aside, what can you do?   I would heartily recommend being honest with your vet about the financial situation.  This way, they can help you to do the best that can be done for your pet with the money that is available, knowing what they know.  They will stop asking you about procedures that they know you cannot afford.  If they know any lower cost alternatives, they will discuss them with you.  This is all that anyone can ask of them as a vet, or of you as an owner. Wishing yourself and your son all the best.

Ps reading that back I realise that I had assumed an orthopedic case here with you mentioning the jaw - sadly, the situation for soft tissue and dental surgery is very similar.  Surgeons can do a lot of advanced, clever surgery but financial constraints can be brutal and hard for all of us.  If there is a lower cost way of accessing suitable surgery, your vet or specialist will likely be aware of it.  Wishing all of you all the best.

Thank you for answering.