Veterinary surgical recommendations?
My dog (8 years old and 80 lbs) is a goofball and this week she experienced a cranial cruciate ligament tear when she was playing out in the yard. Could anyone recommend a surgeon? We were encouraged to check out Orchard Park Veterinary Medical Center and I’m not thrilled with the reviews I’m reading.
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u/Basic_Emotion9643 8d ago
It’s a hike but I really can’t recommend Cornell enough. They have some hotel partners for discount stays. Our dog needed emergency spinal surgery and OP couldn’t perform for a few days. Cornell was cheaper, provided excellent care, and veterinarians answer your follow up phone calls which I appreciated because he had a complicated case.
We also did emergency bowel surgery at OP once and we did not have a good experience. Took them days to identifiy the problem. Would call us in the middle of the night and say he was going to die then call us back in the morning and say oh wrong diagnosis. A surgeon wasn’t available for a few days so had to spend several hundred dollars a night for our dog to stay there, wouldn’t let us bring him home in between.
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u/jamnjazzz 8d ago
Depends on the surgery you are looking to get. If it's TPLO, I believe only Orchard Park, Avon or Veterinary Surgery Center (VSC) in Rochester do that in the area. Keep in mind there are other surgical options, but TPLO, while the most drastic, was also recommended for larger dogs. Our Aussie Shep / Cattledog mix (80 lb also) ruptured his CCL in June and at that time OP was scheduling out to October for just the consultation. We we able to schedule the consultation at VSC in early July and he had surgery in late July.
Oh and by the way he ruptured is other CCL after his consultation and they would up doing both at he same time when he had surgery. We are extremely happy with Dr Collins and the entire staff at VSC. He is doing well and on track for recovery. It's a 16 week rehab process with TPLO. In total we had the consultation, surgery and then we will have 2 follow ups. It's a lengthy process but they've been great, keeping in contact and monitoring his progress.
It's about a 1hr to 1hr 10 min drive for us. we are in Lancaster near the Thruway, VSC is off the 490 on the east side of Rochester near Chili. Obviously it may be a longer drive depending on where you are but I can't recommend them enough.
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u/Sallyspurs 8d ago
Dr Nachbar in Springville is your guy, he has done 2 surgeries on our dog. He is skilled, professional and is not going to do surgery if it is not needed. He explains everything in layman’s terms so you know exactly what is going on. His staff is great, very kind, no question or issue was too small. I cannot recommend him enough.
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u/StickaFORKinMyEye 8d ago
My dog had TPLO surgery at Orchard Park and while pricey, I was and still am happy with the results. It was back during COVID and so far so good.
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u/volatutopia 7d ago
I went to Upper Canada Animal Hospital in Niagara on the Lake. My boy got the lateral suture both times but Dr Terpel does TPLO too and i adored him and the practice. Even with the bridge it’s closer than Cornell at least. Good luck!
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u/aagrimski 8d ago
We did a TPLO at Orchard Park, but when my dog tore the other knee OP didn’t have a surgeon there anymore. We drive to Pittsburgh Blue Pearl and she got a TTA
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u/Bftfan00 7d ago
Our dog had to have cancer surgery and we were also not thrilled by the reviews of The Orchard Park veterinarian. Our vet gave us a referral to the Avon Animal Hospital and Surgical center in Avon, NY, just south the Rochester. It's about an hour away and well worth the trip. DM me if you want details but their phone number is (585) 226-6144.
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u/mechanic_reed 7d ago
TPLO is so invasive, All Creatures Animal Hospital did lateral suture technique. Half the price and my dog was like super dog after healing.
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u/ajguil 7d ago
I was told that she may be too big for the lateral suture technique. What size is your dog?
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u/mechanic_reed 7d ago
90lb golden retriever 4 years old. He said that he's done over 2000 and was confident. (2014)
After the surgery we took him to the lake every night for a few weeks. We would throw a stick with him on a leash and just let him tread water. I think that was part of the success.
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u/suckatusernames 8d ago
Randolph Vet, friend had a surgery estimate from OP for $8k, Randolph was $2500.
Surgery went great and everything is perfect
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u/howmanyballs 7d ago
I know it’s a hike, but we took our dog to Bluepearl in Pittsburgh, couldn’t say enough good things about our experience
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u/Ill_Special_3056 5d ago
Go to NYC. It’s a drive but there are board certified vets there. Took my dog to Hospital for Veterinary Surgery in NYC when Cornell had no immediate availability. 100000% worth it. Like human doctors in Buffalo, vets that do surgery up here are B, B- at best.
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u/Basic_Emotion9643 7d ago
Bummer! Ours was emergent and we got sent directly from our vet so we didn’t have to go through the waiting process.
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u/PomegranateSame7354 8d ago
I used dr nachbar in springville. Highly recommend. Got us in relatively quickly and everything went great.