I need to schedule my mare for a bone scan. Both New Bolton and Marion DuPont are the same distance for us. New Bolton is $2200 and Marion DuPont is $1700. Has anyone had a bone scan at either location. Good/ bad experiences? I’m trying to see if there are any differences between the two facilities. Any questions I should call and ask, thanks!!!
I know lots of people who have had scans done at Marion du Pont and have been happy with the care there.
1 Like
I have heard nothing but good about Marion du Pont, though personally my mare was scanned at Furlong.
I had a horse at New Bolton for neuro issues, it wasn’t a great experience, though I know some who love it there.
1 Like
I think what you need to think about is what is going to happen after the bone scan. Obviously, you are going to have a bone scan due to something not being right with your horse. Bone scan is done…something or somethings light up…there are going to be additional diagnostics needed; X-rays, ultrasounds, possible MRI. Then comes the interpretation of the bone scan and diagnostics. What conclusion do the vets at_________(fill in the blank with whom you choose) have for my horse? Can they do come up w a treatment plan? Is the vet working with me and my horse any good? Do they have skilled farriers (if the horse needs to be reshod or needs special shoeing)? Etc,
It’s not just the price, but the whole picture you need to think about. Ask me why I am saying this…because my horse had a bone scan 6 months ago and I only wish I brought him to ‘my other option’ and skipped the place I chose.
4 Likes
Hi. I am not looking for price comparisons. I was able to call all of the places and get that information directly from each hospital. If I was making a decisions based solely on price, I would just pick the lowest number and would have no need to post here. I posted here to see other peoples opinions on the two locations that I narrowed it down to.
The cheapest place was Spurlock Equine Associates in VA. They were $1025. However, the scans are a point probe system not a gamma camera so the whole horse is scanned but the results are not images but graphs. They are also not a huge operation with a lot of different specialists and departments like a school is. This scan is very broad and we are trying to narrow down an issue, so we don’t know what we will find. I want a bigger place that is equipt to deal with what is found. For these reasons, I ruled them out. I might go back to them after I have more of a diagnosis, if the diagnosis falls within their specialties.
I also ruled out Cornell. They are $2300-2400 and are a 5 hour drive. My mare is not the best at hauling and I didn’t want to put her through the stress of a few more hours in the trailer if I could find something closer that I was satisfied with.
So, I have it narrowed down between New Bolton and Marion DuPont. Both are about 1.5 hours from me. Both are large teaching hospitals with multiple departments. Marion Dupont is a little cheaper. So, I have reached out to vets/ friends/ forums etc to hear multiple opinions before make a decision. So far I am leaning more towards Dupont, but I am still open to hearing different opinions!
Where did you have your scan done and what was your ‘other option’. Also, open to recommendations of other locations that I didn’t mention!
2 Likes
Personally, I drove past Marion Dupont to have a bone scan done at VEI. All my experiences at Marion Dupont have been technically proficient, but I’ve had a couple major issues with clinician bedside manner & front office/admin communication. For elective procedures, I choose to spend my dollars elsewhere. A single clinician links all of my less-than-stellar experiences, so YMMV.
I have also hauled to New Bolton for ophthalmology and highly recommend the experience, but I’m not familiar with their other departments.
I would second a vote for B.W. Furlong. Very competent, skilled team with excellent communication. I’ve used New Bolton for MRI’s but have found the experience with Furlong to be more useful.
2 Likes
My experience with NB was not that great. I agree with Eloise that it is more the follow-up diagnostics that are critical. In my case everything pointed to stifle, but nothing showed up on the bone scan (nor did it or anything else block) so the staff at NB ruled out the stifle. When later it turned out to be the stifle, it seemed they were all about excuses on how some parts of the stifle don’t show up on the scan, etc. If they had told me that to begin with I would have gone ahead and had the stifle x-rayed, which would have saved me about a year of heartache. And this was Dean Richardson, not some intern. I do wonder if because my guy was just a lower level eventer they didn’t put as much thought into the diagnostics. But lot’s of people have great experience with them, and I would certainly go back (of course I live about 10 minutes away).
Excellent experience with Furlong. Negative Cornell.
I realize this may not be germane to the OP’s question.
Something I recall from my bone scan experiences many years ago is that some hospitals don’t use enough of the isotope to adequately image the pelvis in a large horse. If that area is of concern to you, it could be worth asking both hospitals about dosage and how they ensure enough is used to really visualize any problems in the pelvis.
You can get a copy of the images and send them anywhere–so if all else is equal, going with the cheaper option does makes sense! We sent Blush’s films out to Martinelli in CA, even though her scan was at CSU in Colorado…
Right - my mare was at Furlong for 3 days, and I liked knowing that they could also MRI her if need be. Bedside manner for the vet I used was far from warm and fuzzy (but I don’t need that) but all communication was clear, concise and they really took my opinion into account when developing a treatment plan (not that I’m a vet, but it’s nice to be listened to!).
My other horse was at NB for 2 weeks, I got basically no answers but a large bill, and got to take home a 17.3h horse that was still severely neurological because “he was in the grey area for euthanasia”. But all discharge paperwork said to exercise extreme caution in handling as he may go down at any time. My usual lameness vet euth’d a week later when he almost pinned me at feeding time - and the insurance company had no issues with payout, so I guess they felt it was justified.
Interesting, I also had a bad experience with a particular clinician on a PPE at Marion Dupont, makes me wonder if it is the same person! The imaging was good, and found an issue, but the vet’s communication was so poor that I ended up paying for consults elsewhere on the images and Dupont ended up refunding portions of my charges.
I had a bad experience at NB for a lameness issue. My horse didn’t have nuclear scientigraphy, so I can’t comment on that specifically. My horse was lame in the hind end, but the high level clinician couldn’t see it. They did various blocks, and each time took FOREVER. They wasted a lot of time. At the end of the day, they said I should just come back. No thanks.
I like VEI, Furlong, and Fairfield.
My choice would be Spurlock Equine, even if higher. He is a phenomenal vet, and was the Director/ head vet when Marion Dupont Scott was started.
I’ve had mixed experiences at NB. FABULOUS (above and beyond great) with internal medicine and ophthalmology. Somewhat more negative/mixed with sports medicine/orthopedic.
I took Shane there when he was intermittently off on one stifle. They did a bone scan. It was while Barbaro was there, so although he stayed overnight I was prohibited from seeing my own horse because it was a “closed wing.” They did the bone scan, he lit up on LOTS of places (both front feet, wither, and stifle) and they just sort of shrugged their shoulders and said “this horse lights up all kinds of places” and handed me the scan results and the bill. No “here’s a plan for what to do going forward.” No further diagnostics on the areas that lit up. Nothing like that. Just scanned him and sent him home. I was willing to pay for/asking for a full workup to try to get him sound. I went there looking for a plan, not an a la carte scan. When i asked for that, they wanted me to schedule another appointment in a few weeks and go back. I said “forget it” and went to Dr. Keane who is the single best vet anywhere I’ve ever known (but, alas, doesn’t have the equipment and has to rely on other clinics for the bigtime diagnostics.)
It really felt like they didn’t care about me/my horse and just wanted to run the machine.
I think part of it was the “Barbaro effect” because they were very focused on that and maybe stretched a little thin. But I haven’t forgotten it and have been not 100% on NB ever since.
That being said, when I took Somerset (twice) for vision issues and allergies, I got wonderful care that went above and beyond. They really treated me like a valued client and someone who they wanted to see through to the end. When he went back recently for career-ending lameness, Dr. Sweeney was very kind and professional.
So for me, it’s really been mixed bag.
My horse was scanned by Gary Spurlock. This was a sore race horse in training that nobody could find anything wrong with on X-rays or other diagnostics. The scan found mild uptake in the hocks and stifles, and his ankles lit up. Dr. Spurlock did some more diagnostics, and determined that he had sub-chondral bone bruising of the distal cannon bone. The scan shows areas of uptake, but the vets still need to evaluative the results investigate further, so you need a good vet
