# Cost for a gastropexy?



## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

I just inquired at the DFW Veterinary Surgery center about the cost for a laparoscopic gastropexy. The difference between a laparoscopic procedure and the conventional one is that it is done with only two 1/2-inch incisions (one for the scope and one for the instruments) instead of having to cut the abdomen open. They quoted me $1500-$2000 for the procedure. 

Those of you who have had a gastropexy done, how much did you pay? Does this sound reasonable?


----------



## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

I guess location is everything. My vet has performed many gastropexies with success. Hogan was recently pexied for 190.00

It was not lapeoscopic. I liked that he was open and things gotten to easily. His recovery was quick and easy.


----------



## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

OK, I just called Texas A&M teaching hospital and they quoted me $450. Yikes what a difference! It's a ways away but worth it. 

I really prefer the laparoscopy. I had to have a laparoscopy myself two years ago and surgery was a breeze and recovery was quick. The surgeon told me mine was difficult because they had a hard time finding what they were looking for, but from my prospective it was immeasurably easier than open-abdomen surgery.


----------



## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

That sounds like a much better deal! Glad you looked around.

As director of surgery, I have do understand the advantages and disadvantages of laparoscopic versus open procedures and the skills required of surgeons of in the respective procedures. Lap is incredible technology. It is just with my experience with so many dogs and open pexies, that I could not find a great advantage in this instance. Recovery so easy in the healthy dog with minimal discomfort as long as you have a vet knowledgable in post op pain control. The recovery to feeling good is so quick... almost too quick!


----------



## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Interesting, I'll keep that in mind. Would you suggest sticking with a teaching hospital or surgery center, or is this something that can be trusted to your average vet like a spay?


----------



## kitmcd (Aug 31, 2011)

How common is it for GSD owners to have this procedure done? I talked with a friend who had it for his GSD. However, I approached my vet about doing it and he didn't particularly rec for GSD, though for deeper chested dogs like Great Danes he felt it should always be done.

I'm torn about the issue.


----------



## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

I would not go to an average vet for this. One vet in town has had his gastropexies fail one after the other! You want to go to someone with a good track record with their gastropexy technique. I know it is difficult finding out about practitioners in larger met areas. 

The university should be good. Ask the surgeon how many they have done and if they have seen failures resulting in torsions. I would take one of mine to the university if my vet could not do it. I have found the university vets here very easy to talk to and forthcoming with information. Hope you experience the same.

My vet has GSDs and all his dogs are pexied. After all the years, I can not tell you how many GSDs I know who have died from torsion. I lost one to it and saved one with expensive surgery. My friend who shows has all of her GSDs done. I sleep much better at night now that Hogan is pexied. My friend just had both of his pexied. Nothing worse than an emergency trip with torsion or the awful event of finding them deceased from a horrible death of suffocation and pain.


----------



## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

kitmcd said:


> How common is it for GSD owners to have this procedure done? I talked with a friend who had it for his GSD. However, I approached my vet about doing it and he didn't particularly rec for GSD, though for deeper chested dogs like Great Danes he felt it should always be done.
> 
> I'm torn about the issue.


Well, my pup's sire died a few months ago of bloat. He was only 5 years old. When I found that out, I did a little more digging and found out that his paternal grandsire's litter and their offspring had a relatively high incidence of dying young from bloat. Of course we don't know all the causes of bloat, but with a family history like this I feel like it's good idea to get the gastropexy.


----------



## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

With that family history, I would certainly have the procedure done.


----------



## kitmcd (Aug 31, 2011)

We have a university with a vet school a couple hours away. I will contact them for information. Thanks


----------



## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Samba said:


> I would not go to an average vet for this. One vet in town has had his gastropexies fail one after the other! You want to go to someone with a good track record with their gastropexy technique. I know it is difficult finding out about practitioners in larger met areas.
> 
> The university should be good. Ask the surgeon how many they have done and if they have seen failures resulting in torsions. I would take one of mine to the university if my vet could not do it. I have found the university vets here very easy to talk to and forthcoming with information. Hope you experience the same.


Yeah, the uni is just 4 hours away. There's got to be _somebody_ in the Dallas/Ft Worth metroplex who can to a pexy for a reasonable price. I'll keep looking around. Maybe GSDAlphamom knows somebody; she knows all kinds of people.


----------



## Anastasia (Oct 7, 2011)

At what age are you considering this?


----------



## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Somewhere between one and two.


----------



## kitmcd (Aug 31, 2011)

Is it better, i.e. less chance of complications, to wait until they are full grown? I've wondered how you tack an organ and then still have the dog growing...?


----------



## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

i don't know the answer to the age question. A vet cardiologist that I know gastropexied his Lab puppy pretty young. I am sure the dog had growing to do. I had it done at two years old. Others I know have had it done younger on their females with a spay. 

Torsion generally happens in an older dog. I do know of a two year GSD male who torsioned. My friend owns his female littermate and she took her right in for pexy. Two seemed young for this to happen but obviously it can occur.


----------



## kitmcd (Aug 31, 2011)

Thanks Samba.


----------



## Lesley1905 (Aug 25, 2010)

I had a friend whose female had this done during her spay surgery. I think she was about 6 months? I really wish I would have done it as well. I guess I could still do it. Brodys father bloated a couple of months ago and it makes me nervous. My husband and I are cautious when it comes to the causes of bloat. We don't feed on raised food bowls, we make them wait about 90 minutes to eat before and after exercising, feed smaller more frequent meals, etc. I understand you can do everything right, but sometimes it still happens. Such a scary thing. I've been wondering if I should have Brody tacked as well???


----------



## RebelGSD (Mar 20, 2008)

I just had emergency surgery for bloat with my guy this summer and he lived. I will pexi all my future dogs with spay or neuter. As to open or laparscopic: human friend had laparoscopic gastro surgery, they missed a leak because of the limited field of view. My friend got septic, ended up in a coma for months. Theybhad to open him up anyway to fix the first surgery.


----------



## asja (Mar 22, 2011)

Two of my dogs bloated and needed emergency surgery. Both survived. Their emergency surgeries were over $2000 each. My next dog, who is now almost seven, I had her stomach tacked when she was spayed at almost 2 years old. I can't remember exactly, but I think my vet charged an extra $200 or so on top of the spay. I highly recommend having a preventive gastropexy done. On one hand I'm not thrilled about preventive surgery, but I also know firsthand the horrible, horrible nature of bloat and torsion. Yes my dog can still bloat, but not torse. One of my older dogs needed surgery years after his emergency gastropexy, and my vet checked on it, and she told me it was still holding well. A good friend of mine's Great Dane died from bloat last June, and she was devastated. I tried to explain to her for years that Danes are number 1 in bloat/torsion, but I don't think she ever really believed me until it happened to her dog. Most people don't think of preventive surgery, but all my dogs will have it done from now on.


----------



## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

I would appreciate it if you could please keep us updated on how it goes. I am seriously considering a preventative gastropexy for my Rottweiler, who often has "pre bloat" symptoms that so far I've been able to control with crackers, gas-x, and accupressure. I'm worried someday he'll have an "attack" when I'm not home. 

Since he's already neutered, I can't pair the procedure with a neuter, so I've been searching for a vet that does the laparoscopic procedure. I'll be interested to hear how your boy turns out.


----------



## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

Emily I've used both a vet teaching school (U of Mo when I lived in STL) and the Dallas Surgery Center. In my experience the care itself was pretty equal, $$ however, is a different story.

My maltese went to UM vet school for seizures (she would go flat out with 4 legs sprawled and could not walk). My vet was at a loss as how to treat. At UM they are assigned a resident that is in charge of their care with an overseeing Vet. I got to meet everyone and Peggy Sue (my maltese) was left there for 2 weeks. It ended up being hydrocephalus with meds I got another 1.5 yrs. They did water thearpy (swimming) with her and put her on meds. Peggy went on rounds with her resident everyday. I loved the fact that she was with someone all day.

THey said one day the resident was called to another room for an emergency and she told the tech to watch Peggy (who was in the room with her on rounds). The resident ran to the ER, turned around and Peggy was right there with her. I loved that story, her legs were working great! I was very please with the care the school gave.

Garth had his leg amputated at the Dallas surgery center. He had a total of 4 surgeries as they thought they could save the leg. THey quote a range and commit to staying in that range. The high end of Garth's quote was around $8000. We did max out after 3 surgeries and the surgeon performed the last (ampuataton) at no charge. I liked him but the prices were on the high side.

Two years prior he was there because of auto immune disease (got the diagnoses there). He was not in the surgery dept, I think it was internal medicine (it's set up like a hospital with different units). Susan something was the vet and I did not like her. She wanted to redo every test my vet had already done...xrays, blood work, etc. I asked why she couldn't use the ones I brought and she indicated she needed her own.

At that time I had no choice so I spent $2000 on tests that I had already done so bascially $4000 in tests. They diagnosed him and got him up and running again but I did not like her ethics and would never go to her again. Redoing the test just gave it a feel that she was in it to get as much $ as she could.

She left there and opened the ER clinic on Coit but I've heard she is back at the surgery center. There are more vets in that dept so should you ever be in that unit, I would not use her).

That's alot of info to answer your question but I wanted to give you details of bogth experiences. A&M is what 4 hours away? If it were me I would use them. It's great we are in an area that we have these facilities and options. When I lived in STL and used UM it was 3 hours away and well worth it.


----------



## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

University of MO Vet school has super prices. Again it is location. I have remarked to them several times about the charges being so low and told them I was glad I lived in MO. They said I could pay three times as much at other vet schools depending on locale.


----------



## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

OK, I contacted North TX Great Dane Rescue and asked them if they had a vet they recommended for doing the procedure since Danes have the highest incidence of bloat. They sent me to Ohio Dr. Animal Hosptial in Plano who said they do those quite routinely and quoted me $350. It is not laparoscopic but from listening to Samba that might be better anyway. 

I just felt like the $2000 at Dallas surgery center was high.


----------



## Gwenhwyfair (Jul 27, 2010)

To avoid too much duplication I thought it would be better to follow up on this thread. 

In red, It sounds like you decided against laparoscopic surgery here, but are now going to go the laparoscopic route?




Emoore said:


> OK, I contacted North TX Great Dane Rescue and asked them if they had a vet they recommended for doing the procedure since Danes have the highest incidence of bloat. They sent me to Ohio Dr. Animal Hosptial in Plano who said they do those quite routinely and quoted me $350. It is not laparoscopic but from listening to Samba that might be better anyway.
> 
> I just felt like the $2000 at Dallas surgery center was high.


----------



## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Yeah. . . . I have a LOT of faith in the folks over at A&M, having used their large animal department years ago. I just hate the idea of opening up the abdominal cavity. However I do plan to talk it over with my own vet and the docs at A&M before making a final decision.


----------



## Gwenhwyfair (Jul 27, 2010)

Thanks! Based on this thread and your input I'm going to be doing more research on the vet clinic I have chosen.

It sounds like the tricky part of the laparoscopic pexie is it requires more skill on the surgeon's part.

So the downside is a higher potential failure of the tacking....





Emoore said:


> Yeah. . . . I have a LOT of faith in the folks over at A&M, having used their large animal department years ago. I just hate the idea of opening up the abdominal cavity. However I do plan to talk it over with my own vet and the docs at A&M before making a final decision.


----------



## Caledon (Nov 10, 2008)

I wish I knew about this procedure when I had my dog spayed. The vet didn't even talk aobut it. I would have done it.


----------



## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Colleges are usually the best but quite expensive.


----------



## Gwenhwyfair (Jul 27, 2010)

I found out about laparoscopic spays by accident. Since most vets perform traditional spays they'll be less likely to send business away...

It does require extra training to perform laparoscopic surgery and specialized equipment so I can why it maybe slow in catching on with more vets, at first.




Caledon said:


> I wish I knew about this procedure when I had my dog spayed. The vet didn't even talk aobut it. I would have done it.


----------



## Kobe24 (Jul 28, 2011)

Any recommendations on where to get Kobe pexied around Tampa, FL? We haven't found anywhere locally (Spring Hill) who commonly do the surgery.


----------



## EchoGSD (Mar 12, 2010)

I had my girl pexied when she was spayed. I worked at the hospital where it was done, so it only cost me gift cards for the surgeon and the tech who assisted.


----------



## huntergreen (Jun 28, 2012)

Gwenhwyfair said:


> To avoid too much duplication I thought it would be better to follow up on this thread.
> 
> In red, It sounds like you decided against laparoscopic surgery here, but are now going to go the laparoscopic route?


laparoscopic surgery = small incisions and faster recovery along with far less pain. don't know why anyone would want to to do open surgery if it could be done this way.


----------



## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

Bruiser's the only dog I've ever owned that I've had pexed (he's had several episodes of what I call partial torsions). When he was a puppy he almost died from a mystery illness and during that illness he had several exploratory surgeries ... so I took him back to the vet here in Ocala who did those surgeries and he did fine, quick and uneventful recouperation.


----------

