Luxating patella surgery in Australia commonly costs between $3,000 and $6,000 per knee. General practices that do the procedure sit at the lower end, around $3,000 to $3,500 as an all inclusive package in some Melbourne clinics, while specialist surgeons commonly charge $5,000 or more.
| Option | Typical Australian range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| General practice package | $3,000 to $4,000 | Some clinics advertise all inclusive packages with bloods, overnight stay and rechecks |
| Specialist surgeon | $4,500 to $6,000 | One Sydney specialist centre lists medial patellar luxation surgery at $5,050 |
| Both knees | Roughly double | Staged operations are the norm; some clinics discount the second |
| Higher grade or combined surgery | $6,000 and up | Grade 4 knees and patella plus cruciate combinations cost more |
The surgery is usually a combination of deepening the groove, moving the attachment point of the tendon, and tightening soft tissue, tailored to the individual knee. Higher grades need more of it. Beyond the grade, the price mostly reflects the same wrapper differences as any orthopaedic surgery: who operates, what monitoring and aftercare are included, and whether rechecks and x-rays are bundled or billed as extras.
Send the case, hear back from a surgeon with what they can do and what it costs, and only pay if you go ahead.
Send what your vet said and quoted. A veterinary surgeon reads it and comes back to you with what they can do and what it would cost, before you pay anything. A written second opinion is from $250.
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Often yes for accidental and illness cover, but patella luxation is a commonly excluded pre existing condition if it was noted before the policy started, even at a puppy check. Read your certificate carefully, and ask the insurer in writing.
Counterintuitively, tiny dogs can be more fiddly, and grade matters more than body weight. A grade 3 chihuahua knee is a bigger job than a grade 2 spaniel knee. The quote should say what work is planned.