{"id":1593,"date":"2020-08-11T11:55:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-11T15:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/?p=1593"},"modified":"2022-07-11T10:57:25","modified_gmt":"2022-07-11T14:57:25","slug":"is-my-pets-surgery-urgent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/is-my-pets-surgery-urgent\/","title":{"rendered":"Is my pet\u2019s surgery urgent?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As you can imagine, some conditions are more severe and urgent than others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Removing a small lump that\u2019s been there for 3 months is logically less urgent than a C-section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, how do you, how does your family vet, how does a surgeon, decide what surgery is urgent and what is not?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A simple way to decide is to consider that a surgery is urgent if not performing it would cause irreversible harm. This can include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

. Threat to the patient’s life (e.g. severe internal bleeding, \u201cbloat\u201d or a \u201ctwisted stomach\u201d, pyometra aka an infected uterus, some C-sections)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

. Risk of irreversible damage to the patient’s physical health (e.g. difficulty breathing, risk of paralysis of the legs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

. Threat of permanent harm of an extremity or an organ (e.g. urinary blockage that can cause kidney damage, intestinal blockage that can damage the intestine)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

. Risk of rapid worsening of severe symptoms (e.g. a pet hit by a car with open wounds).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

. Severe pain that can be solved with surgery (e.g. a severely broken bone that cannot be stabilized)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the opposite, some surgeries are not urgent: most lumps and bumps, a torn ACL, some fractures that can be stabilized (e.g. with a splint), bladder stones, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"An<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Now, just because these surgeries are not considered urgent, doesn\u2019t mean that you should procrastinate for months!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

. Delaying the removal of bladder stones can lead to a blockage (of the urethra) that can in turn cause kidney damage and heart problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

. Removing a small tumor is obviously less invasive than removing a huge one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

. Delaying the repair of a torn ACL for months means that there will be much more arthritis and muscle loss (and pain).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though some of the above examples are sometimes debatable, these are pretty good guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everything is relative, even in the surgery world\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Basically, urgent or emergency surgery is recommended when it provides relief to the patient or to an organ, and a non-surgery option is not available or practical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Importantly, as you read these examples, please remember that I am only talking about surgical conditions. There are countless other conditions that are medical, i.e. that are not treated with surgery. Those are beyond the scope of this blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bottom line: when in doubt about a specific condition in your pet, the best thing you can do is ask your family vet, an emergency vet, or ideally, a surgeon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phil Zeltzman, DVM, DACVS, CVJ, Fear Free Certified<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As you can imagine, some conditions are more severe and urgent than others. Removing a small lump that\u2019s been there for 3 months is logically less urgent than a C-section. Still, how do you, how does your family vet, how does a surgeon, decide what surgery is urgent and what is not? A simple way […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[157,254,156,10],"class_list":["post-1593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-phil-zeltzman","tag-urgent-surgery","tag-veterinary-surgeon","tag-veterinary-surgery"],"yoast_head":"\nIs my pet\u2019s surgery urgent? | Dr Phil Zeltzman\u2019s Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As you can imagine, some conditions are more severe and urgent than others.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/is-my-pets-surgery-urgent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is my pet\u2019s surgery urgent? 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