Lots of pet owners have been there. You go to the vets as your beloved Bertie has a little lump and your vet recommends surgery to remove it. That sounds like a great plan – not only will the lump be gone but you’ll be able to find out exactly what it is. Problem sorted!
Just one more question for the vet before you leave… “And how much will that be?”. You nearly faint when the vet says £800-900! How can that be? When Bertie was neutered, it wasn’t nearly as much as that! How can one little lump cost all that money? Is my vet trying to rip me off?
Table of contents
The answer is of course not! Surgery is expensive because there is a lot of skill and specialist equipment involved. We don’t always appreciate this as we have the NHS where we don’t get told the cost of surgery for people.
Why is the cost of neutering less?
Neutering surgeries use all the same specialist equipment and skills to perform but vets generally don’t charge as much for them as non-routine surgeries. This is because vets want to promote responsible pet ownership, including neutering, so they lower the price to make it available to all pet owners. If you’re thinking you’ll use your pet insurance to pay for the op, you won’t be able to as routine procedures will not be covered.
Some charities, for example, Cats’ Protection, will subsidise the cost of neutering further to ensure everyone can afford to get their cats neutered and prevent unwanted litters of cats. A lot of practices also discount neutering further if you sign up to their preventative healthcare plan.
Because neutering is routine and performed daily, everyone involved knows exactly what they’re doing. This means the procedure is carried out efficiently and as such, often takes less time to perform which helps to keep costs down.
Practices keep the price so low that they often lose money on neutering which doesn’t make good business sense. But they know it’s the right thing to do, because, on balance, it reduces the chances of expensive problems later on.
Why is non-routine surgery so expensive?
Unfortunately, practices can’t subsidise all procedures. If they were always making a loss, the practice would cease to exist! The price you pay represents the true costs of the operation.
What are the costs for Bertie’s surgery?
There are many different items to pay for when it comes to surgery. Some are big one-off costs to the practice e.g. the anaesthetic machine, whereas others are applicable to every operation e.g. suture material.
Here are all the items that need to paid for and a rough estimate of the cost of the items for Bertie’s surgery, although this can vary from practice to practice.
Staff
There are at least two people involved in all surgeries – the vet to do the surgery and the nurse to monitor the anaesthetic. Both are qualified professionals so must be paid for their expertise. While salaries vary widely, a fair estimate of the average cost to the practice might be:
- Cost of nurse per hour £20
- Cost of vet per hour £45
Time
It is not just the time of the actual operation. There is also a lot of preparation and aftercare. Before the procedure, Bertie will have pre-anaesthetic blood tests, have an IV cannula placed and will be given a “pre-med”. This provides some light sedation and pain relief. The drug doses need to be calculated for Bertie and he needs to be monitored once he has had this medication.
After the operation, Bertie needs close monitoring in hospital whilst he recovers, and he may need additional medication. The vet needs to write notes for the procedure.
- Total cost for 2 staff for 4 hours – £260
Drugs
There are the drugs used in the pre-med, the anaesthetic drugs – one to make Bertie fall asleep, and a continuous supply of inhalational gas plus oxygen to ensure Bertie stays asleep during the operation, always pain relief, and possibly antibiotics.
- Cost – £130
Overheads
Electricity, heating (Bertie could get very cold under anaesthetic), water, rent/mortgage for the building where the operation will take place.
- Cost (estimated for duration of op) – £90
Equipment
The anaesthetic machine, breathing systems and tubes, monitoring equipment (checks breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen levels etc), surgical instruments, drapes, laboratory blood testing machines.
- Estimated cost per use – £55
Materials
Suture material to stitch Bertie up, IV cannulas, any bandaging material used, fluid lines and fluids for Bertie’s drip, needles and syringes, swabs, disinfectant wash.
- Cost – £65
Diagnostic tests
Pre-anaesthetic blood tests run in house, histology at external laboratory (test the lump to find out what it is).
- Cost – £170
Total – £770
Veterinary practices are businesses so they do need to make a profit; some of this money can be reinvested into the business to make improvements. On average, a well-run practice makes 8 -15% profit. So if that is added on, the price of the surgery is in the range of £800-£900, as the vet estimated.
As you can see, the costs quickly stack up. Remember, mass removal is one of the less complicated surgeries performed. If Bertie needed a bigger procedure, the cost would be more, for example orthopaedic surgery can cost several thousands.
Unfortunately, there is no getting away from the fact that surgery is expensive. Pet insurance is something to consider when you get a pet to help cover these costs. Be sure to ask your vet for an itemised estimate for any treatment your pet may require to help you understand what’s involved.
Learn more about vet prices here.
Discussion