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Should I spend the extra money for laser surgery when my puppy gets neutered?

My 6 month old male puppy is going in to be neutered. The vet said for an extra $90 they could do laser surgery instead of a scalpel so there is less risk of blood clots and less recovery time. Also, for an extra $20 they can do blood tests after the surgery. Any opinions on whether these options are worth the extra money?

Public Comments

1. I would!
2. DON'T be stupid! NOT worth it.....neither of the useless frills are...except to fatten the vets wallet! Castration is 90% healed in 24 hours & 100% in 48!!! BILLIONS of animals have been castrated out in fields w/a pocket knife,by farmers...it is NOT a BFD. A half inch boo-boo WILL be completely healed in 48hrs.
3. I probably wouldn't. Neutering for a male is relatively easy and the recovery is quick - usually 24 hours is enough to get them almost back to normal. What do they want to run blood tests for? Are they doing a coag panel? Probably unnecessary if he is in good health and not displaying any symptoms. Bloodwork won't predict future problems.
4. My dog was neutered with laser surgery. I also had 2 cats altered that way, and front de-clawed. I thought it was well worth it BUT, for my pup, traditional surgery was $84.00 and the extra for laser, was $30.00. That comes to $114.00 total. I would NEVER pay $90.00 extra for laser, since that is more that the total of what I would have paid for traditional. You might want to call around to a few other Vets and see if it's offered there and what their prices are. The cost at this Vet is off the charts! Add: Oh, and I DIDN'T pay extra money for blood testing! If there is something wrong with a 6 month old pup, it would croak on the table, anyway, and the cost of neutering would be wasted to begin with. I would, however, have blood testing done if the dog was say 7 years old or so. Add: Yes, Diana, I am VERY well aware of congenital defects....or illness, as you state. NO, I wouldn't blame the Vet....that's what *I* sign the pre-surgical papers for. I live in the REAL world. No scape goats, here. AND you have no idea on my view of pets.....NONE! I've never met you before in my life, so I don't think you have a right to judge me, do you.
5. Lucky me, I didn't have to pay an extra dime for laser surgery-my vet doesn't perform neuters any other way than with the laser (and his price is in line with other local vets). The blood tests should be done BEFORE surgery. I found that I much preferred the laser surgery, as it really did speed up recovery time. Would I pay an extra $90 for laser surgery? No. Have the testing done, take the antibiotics and painkillers if offered/recommended, but I wouldn't throw an extra $90 for something that makes a nicer incision.
6. Neutering a male puppy isn't that big of deal. An extra $90 dollars is ridiculous. The blood test should be done first. Your vet is trying to get rich off of you.
7. No save your money for something else. Dogs heal really quickly when neutered by the traditional method.
8. First, do NOT listen to anything St Lady says! Healed in 48 hours my professional degree! There hasn't really been any conclusive reseach to determine that laser vs. blade insicion is better. So, IMPO, I would not pay the extra cost for use of a laser. Besides, the insicion is so small that I don't see any advantage. I work at a hospital that utilizes lasers and we only use them 10% of the time. My own personal animals and the many I have fostered have all be neutered or spayed via the traditional scaple blade. Bloodwork is definately advantageous. Ever hear of CONGENITAL illnesses,JULIE D?? I'm assuming this blook work is BEFORE sugery and not after? Pre-operative blood work is a MUST for our pets because they cannot talk to us. Blood work prior to anesthesia can tell us a lot about the pet. If kidney values are increased, it might reveal a congenital kidney abnormality. I've seen this with my own eyes. Owners spent money to have the pet neutered, only to find out that their pet would die because it had under devoloped kidneys. It would have been euthanized prior to neutering, rather than after neutering, a 24 hour stay at an ER hospital, and an $800 abdominal exploratory surgery to detmine the cause of the sudden kidney failure. Nope, not a ligated ureter, but instead raisins for kidneys. No malpractice, but poor judgement. Clotting abnormalities, sub-clinical infections, heart disease, portal systemic shunts, kidney dysfunction, etc can be assertained from pre-operative bloodwork. Honestly, 90% of the time - all is normal. But for the 10% that it is not, you are so glad that you did it and CYA! ALL of my animals have had pre-anesthetic bloodwork before surgery, dentals, etc. Besides, Julie D....if you pet does "croak" during surgery - who is the owner going to blame? The vet, that's who. Not the animal! Why should a vet be the scape goat for an ignorant or poorly informed owner? Not all pets who have congenital abnormalities die during surgery! Mostly it is after and the owners don't know why, they just know it happened after is was fixed, giving them an ingnorant opionion of spaying and neutering pets. Oh, we don't know why Sparky died, oh well. We'll just get another. Sounds like you have a disposible view of pets.
9. I had two of my male Goldens castrated a few years ago. One was 18 months, the other 2 years old. The ops were performed by two different Vets. The first Vet butchered my poor dog - he punctured a vein during the operation , causing a huge haematoma in his groin. I cried when I went to pick him up, he was so badly bruised and in a lot of pain. It took him weeks to recover. My other dog was operated on by a more experienced Vet and the incision was so small I could hardly see it. He also used soluble sutures so there wasn't the trauma of having the stitches removed later - just a check up to see if everything was okay. If I was given the opportunity to opt for laser surgery for any of my dogs in the future, I would probably say yes but I do think $90 is rather exhorbitant. Why would they do blood tests after the surgery?. I'd have thought it more sensible to do the blood tests before but I suppose there must be a reason for this.
10. I wouldn't spend the extra on laser surgery for a neuter. Neutering is a very simple procedure, and healing time is very fast (my cats never even noticed for the most part). Blood tests are for before surgery, not after.