Every day, our four-legged friends become a little bit older, and with age comes the possibility of developing various health problems.
Often, aging canines lose eyesight, much like people. Even though this might make many dog owners nervous, it’s only a natural aspect of becoming older. The most common cause of blindness in dogs is called cataracts. But there’s no need to be concerned; cataract and blindness surgery for dogs can assist your canine companion in overcoming clouded and hazy eyesight. So, what’s its cost? How much does dog blindness treatment cost?
Blindness treatment/surgery for dogs typically costs between $2000 and $4000, including evaluation, operation, anesthesia, operating room services, hospitalization, medications, and follow-up examinations.
Your location, the procedures performed before surgery, the condition of each eye, as well as post-operative assessments and prescriptions can all impact the overall cost of the process.
Factors Affecting Dog Blindness Treatment Cost
Let’s take a more in-depth look at the factors contributing to the overall cost of canine blindness treatment.
1. Your Location
The price of a visit to the veterinarian, a service, or an operation is contingent on the fees charged by the veterinarian in your area. If you live in a location with a higher cost of living, you should anticipate paying more money for veterinary care.
2. Pre-operative measures and preparations
Before arranging any kind of surgical operation for your dog, a diagnosis must be made. In order to evaluate the state of your dog’s health in its entirety, you will need to take him to the veterinarian for an initial eye check, preliminary diagnostic tests, and bloodwork.
In light of these findings, it is possible that you may be sent to a veterinary ophthalmologist. This specialist will do their own eye exam and may prescribe further tests such as an electroretinogram, eye ultrasonography, and thorough blood panel. These first operations might cost anything from $500 to $1000.
3. Condition of dog’s eyes
Your total cost will be determined by several factors, including whether or not your dog requires surgery in both eyes and whether or not you want to have an intraocular lens inserted (IOL). IOLs are frequently suggested since they can restore your dog’s eyesight to something that is as near to normal as it is feasible to get. Canines can still see even without an intraocular lens (IOL), but their vision will be farsighted. This means that items in the distance will be in focus, but those up close will seem hazy to the dog.
The cost of surgery solely on a single eye without needing an IOL is much lower than the cost of surgery on both eyes with IOLs.
Following their operations, dogs occasionally must spend the night in the veterinary hospital for observation. Dogs will need a cone or healing collar to keep them from clawing at their eyes until it is time for them to go home. In addition to that, they will need penicillin and eye drops, both of which may need to be used for several weeks, months, or even permanently. A post-operative follow-up appointment with the veterinary ophthalmologist may be necessary to confirm that the operation was successful.
Does pet insurance cover the dog blindness treatment?
Certain pet insurance companies may cover the expense of dog blindness surgery; however, this will depend on several circumstances, including whether or not the pet has a pre-existing disease. If your pet insurance does not cover the entire cost, or if you do not have dog insurance at all, you should plan on paying the full sum, which, once again, often ranges from $2000 to $4000 in total.
What are my options for financing and paying for blindness for my dog?
The majority of veterinarians anticipate receiving payment at the time when treatment or operation is to take place. Only a small percentage of physicians offer credit to customers via their business. Under this arrangement, consumers get monthly invoices from their vet and pay those payments directly to the veterinarian. However, virtually all of them accept credit cards that can be used for nearly any purchase.
Conclusion
The price of dog blindness treatment can range anywhere from $2000 to $4000 depending on the state of your dog and the location of your veterinarian. As long as the pet’s visual difficulties were not a pre-existing condition at the time of signing up for the insurance plan, many pet insurance companies will cover up to 85-90% of the costs associated with the procedure.
