For emergeny sick and trauma cases simply say out loud to the receptionist that yours is a critical case and we'll start right into work. But otherwise, get checked in and together we'll figure out what needs to be done:
What To Expect When You
Bring in a Sick or Injured Pet:
I'll try to put prices down where ever applicable so you can know what to expect from a cost stand point as well.
History: Try to tell us about how long your pet's been sick, about whether or not there have been similar problems in the past, any big changes lately in diet, other pets in the household, recent boarding or vacations, and whether or not your pet has been drinking or urinating excessively. All this information helps a lot.
Samples: If your pet is sick, consider bringing in a stool sample or, if possible, a urine sample.
Initial Exam: this is where we try to determine what's going on, to list all the problems we can detect, determine the severity of the injuries or illnesses, and come up with an appropriate plan. We'll examine your pet from head to tail looking with an experienced eye and hands for what ever is wrong. We'll ask a lot of questions. We'll get vital signs. Usually we can get a pretty good idea about the cause and extent of the problem with this initial exam. Sometimes we have to look a little harder. $37
Lab Work: for sick patients, we rely heavily on lab tests to rule out common diseases and parasite problems. We have tests for leukemia, Feline AIDS, ear mites, ear infections, heartworms, intestinal worms, parvo, Lymes, Erlichia, diabetes, liver disease, anemia, pancreatitis, thyroid disease, hidden infections, auto-immune disease, bladder infections, and much more. Many of these tests are simple test kits costing as little as $4. We can also send off blood, tissue, urine, or stool to commercial labs and get comprehensive health panels that rule out lots of different problems. The most common panel we recommend is $69.
For injured pets needing surgery, we often need to runs some simple tests to increase anesthetic safety and to check for internal bleeding. This usually costs $26. And of course, for pets with major trauma or injuries, more extensive blood work may be needed to ensure that all vital organs are working as they should.
Radiographs: Crystal Clear digital radiography allows us to detect not just fractures but all kinds of internal problems of the spine, kidneys, liver, bowels, lymph nodes, gall bladder, spleen, uterus, stomach, heart, lungs, sinuses, and throat. $75 for multiple views.
Hospitalization: Some illnesses and injuries require one or more days in the hospital. This could be for IV Fluids, aggressive antibiotic and supportive care by injection, bowel evacuation, or for surgery and post-op wound care. $20/night
Intensive care: It's rare in veterinary hospitals to have trained medical staff on a 24 hour basis. It's simply too expensive. So for those very critical medical cases needing constant care during the night we'll either take home with me or refer to the nearest 24 hour care facility. There's one in Anderson and one in Greenville.
It's $20 for me care for a patient at home. It's usually several hundred dollars to go to an intensive care hospital. Luckily this situation isnt' too common. We can usually stabalize even very sick or injured pets for the night.
Medications while in the hospital: Most sick and injured patients require antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, medications for nausea, pain, and so on. The costs of medications varies a lot from case to case but typically cost $20-40 a day.
Fluid Therapy: Pets that are seriously ill or injured usually need IV Fluids. The difference in improvement rate is incredible. $30-50/day
Referral: Some cases would do better with specialized expertise or equipment. Just so you know, such care tends to cost several hundred to several thousand dollars, but we have an incredible referral center available to us in Greenville as well as the Georgia University Veterianary Hosptial in Athens.
They have board certified internists, surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, cancer specialists, eye surgeons, dermatologists, socialists, democrats, and you name it.
They have Cat Scans, MRI's, Medical Lasers, UltraSound, and radiation therapy for cancer.
I will always let you know when your pet would benefit from such services or if we simply can't figure out what your pet's problem is. Check out the web sites of the Specialist in Greenville and in Athens.
Anesthesia: injured pets often need surgery and therefore anesthesia is often needed to fix the problem. The type of injuries we see, usually 3 or 4 a day, range from very minor (but painful) fishing lures in the mouth, to bite wounds, all the way up to massive and multiple wounds caused by bullets and from being run over by a car. Sometimes simple local anethesia or short acting injectable anesthestics are all that's needed, ($25-50) and sometimes a couple hours of neurolept and gas anesthesia are required ($100) Sometimes large amounts of morphine and other pain medications are needed. Sometimes atropine, dopram, anti-sedan, epinephrine and other emergency and recovery medications are needed. They aren't especially expensive, but they do cost ($10-25) something.
Surgery for Injured Pets: Once an injured pet is stabalized and under appropriate anesthesia, the actual surgical part of the procedure might be so simple it's free or very inexpensive. A good example is removing a bone wedged in the back of the mouth or removing a fishing lure. It's also very inexpensive to suture up minor lacerations. $0-50
It's all the other stuff necessary to the case like the medications, pre-anesthetic testing, and anesthesia that adds up.
On the other hand, injured pets with major wounds might need extensive surgical repair, drains, and post op bandages. Some patients have internal injuries such as ruptured spleens or bladders or foreign objects that have penetrated the chest or guts. These are major, high risk surgeries. Typical surgical costs for major surgery is between $150-250. Combine the surgical cost with anesthesia and several days of hospitalization, IV fluids, and medications and the total cost of major cases is sometimes over $700. This is incredibly cheap compared to similar care in human medicine, but it's still a lot.
Take Home Care: Most sick and injured pets aren't instantly cured, of course. Full recovery may take days or weeks, and some diseases or injuries require life-time management. It's easy to be cynical about this subject, but we live in an age where it's quite miraculous to have such an arsenal of medications that are quite effective at controlling diseases, pain, allergies, and especially infections.
The costs of antibiotics, recovery meds, and medications and prescription diets designed for managing specific problems will probably be needed. The cost will vary widely depending on the case. A good ball park estimate though would be to plan on about $25 for minor cases, $60 for more serious problems, and several hundred dollars a year for long term problems like diabetes and joint injuries.
Follow Up: Medical care is not like plumbing. Often times we fix a problem and it stays fixed. But other times, follow up testing, repeat treatments, maintenance care, or multiple surgeries are needed.
Recheck exams and follow up visits after we treat your pet are usually free for several weeks. This is a pretty nice policy at our hospital not practiced by most clinics. Removing sutures and surgical staples, bandages and splints is also usually free.
But be realistic; follow up tests and additional treatment or surgeries are not free.
Hopefully this page covered most of the major steps in treating sick and injured pets and has given you an idea of the costs involved.
I've written a great deal about treating lots of specific diseases and pet problems on another site
Just go to www.AnimalPetDoctor.com and then go to the Treatment Page and click on whatever problem interest's you. Thanks.
