In Canberra, expect the national range of $3,000 to $6,000 per knee for luxating patella surgery. Canberra is a small market with limited specialist presence, so complex cases are routinely referred to Sydney anyway. For routine orthopaedics the local general practices are capable; for referral tier surgery you are often choosing which Sydney hospital, not whether to travel.
| Option | Typical Australian range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| General practice package | $3,000 to $4,000 | Some clinics bundle bloods, overnight stay and rechecks |
| Specialist surgeon | $4,500 to $6,000 | One Sydney specialist centre publishes $5,050 fixed |
| Both knees or high grade | $6,000 and up | Staged operations are the norm |
Nationally, patella surgery commonly costs $3,000 to $6,000 per knee, with general practice packages at the bottom of the range and specialist surgeons at the top.
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.
The three hour run to Sydney opens the full specialist market, and Melbourne's fixed price clinics are a realistic option for planned, non urgent surgery.
Send the case, hear back from a surgeon with what they can do and what it costs, and only pay if you go ahead.
Get both if you can. Grade 2 is judgement territory: an experienced GP who does patellas regularly is a legitimate choice, while grade 3 and 4 knees, revisions and combined cruciate cases belong with the specialist tier. The x-rays and the examination decide it, which is exactly what an independent opinion can referee.
Broadly yes, staged a few months apart, though some clinics discount the second knee. Worth asking directly, and worth an independent look at whether the second knee genuinely needs surgery at all before you commit to it.
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