Surgical treatment costs less than medicine for hip arthritis in dogs

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine the lifetime cost of 3 treatments for canine hip osteoarthritis: (1) conservative management, (2) femoral head and neck excision (FHNE), or (3) total hip replacement. We hypothesized that FHNE would be the least expensive treatment at all ages. SAMPLE: Cost estimates from 11 private and academic referral centers from 8 randomly chosen cities across the US. METHODS: Costs of surgeries were collected from practices in 8 US cities. The literature was used to determine expected postoperative costs. For conservative management, costs of pain medications and diet were obtained by use of online pharmacies. A 4.5% inflation adjustment was used for costs in subsequent years. RESULTS: For a dog aged 1 to 7 years, FHNE had the lowest lifetime cost. Total hip replacement had the second lowest cost until age 4, after which conservative management was lower. For dogs > 8 years, conservative management was the most cost-effective. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: For dogs presenting with clinical signs at or under 1 year of age, the perceived benefits of total hip replacement may not be financially prohibitive if lifetime cost of care is considered. Femoral head and neck excision was also less expensive than long-term conservative management. This can help veterinarians inform owners on costs of treatments over the lifetime of their pet. This type of analysis is limited to financial costs alone and does not account for differences in outcomes, as these are not well established. It should be expanded in the future as better data on outcomes and impacts of care become available.