{"id":1809,"date":"2021-08-24T11:55:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-24T15:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/?p=1809"},"modified":"2022-07-11T11:29:35","modified_gmt":"2022-07-11T15:29:35","slug":"who-on-earth-wants-surgery-on-their-23-year-old-cat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/who-on-earth-wants-surgery-on-their-23-year-old-cat\/","title":{"rendered":"Who on earth wants surgery on their 23 year old cat?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I recently repaired a fracture on a 23 year old cat. Some of my nurses aren&#8217;t even that old! It&#8217;s a true story with a very happy ending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Basil, the 23 year old cat, had a broken tibia. The shin bone was broken in 3 main pieces. He went to the local ER, where his owner was told that he was too old and should be put to sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"613\" height=\"499\" src=\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Basil-face.jpeg\" alt=\"Basil, a 23 year old cat\" class=\"wp-image-1811\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>That did not sit well with Basil&#8217;s owner. He may be 23 years old, but he was healthy otherwise, so why end his life? His owner contacted me regarding Basil\u2019s situation. We agreed that it was ethical to perform surgery on him, since he was healthy otherwise, and we scheduled him for surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"628\" height=\"585\" src=\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Basil-preop-lateral.jpg\" alt=\"A fractured leg\" class=\"wp-image-1813\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Fixing the shattered bone required 1 pin, 1 plate, 4 wires, and 9 screws to repair! A bone graft was added to speed up healing. Surgery went well and sweet Basil recovered smoothly under the close supervision of his nurses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"665\" height=\"627\" src=\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Basil-immediate-postop-lat.jpg\" alt=\"The repaired fracture\" class=\"wp-image-1812\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>At home, he was strictly confined for 8 weeks. At suture removal, after only 2 weeks, he surprised everybody by walking around using the leg very well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And after 8 weeks, follow up X-rays showed that the bone had healed nicely and we could start to increase Basil\u2019s activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"599\" height=\"448\" src=\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Basil-2-mo-postop-lat.jpg\" alt=\"The repaired fracture\" class=\"wp-image-1810\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>And after one more month of that, Basil returned to his normal Grandpa life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So what\u2019s the moral of this story?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As I always say, \u201cAge is not a disease.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A few conditions need to be met for surgery to be a valid option in my opinion:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>. The patient should be reasonably healthy<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>. The condition should be fixable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>. Quality of life should be good after surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>. The owner should be 100% on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two months after surgery, Basil\u2019s owner writes: \u201cMy sweet 23 year old cat is finally back on the couch with me. He is getting giant hugs. He\u2019s really doing great. I really have no words to thank you enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I don\u2019t see why we should deny help to a patient who fulfills these criteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Basil\u2019s owner certainly felt that way, and I am sure Basil did as well\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Phil Zeltzman, DVM, DACVS, CVJ, Fear Free <\/em>Certified<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.DrPhilZeltzman.com\">www.DrPhilZeltzman.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I recently repaired a fracture on a 23 year old cat. Some of my nurses aren&#8217;t even that old! It&#8217;s a true story with a very happy ending. Basil, the 23 year old cat, had a broken tibia. The shin bone was broken in 3 main pieces. He went to the local ER, where his [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[81,275,157,156,10],"class_list":["post-1809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-fractured-tibia","tag-geriatric-surgery","tag-phil-zeltzman","tag-veterinary-surgeon","tag-veterinary-surgery"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Who on earth wants surgery on their 23 year old cat? | Dr Phil Zeltzman\u2019s Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I recently repaired a fracture on a 23 year old cat. Some of my nurses aren&#039;t even that old! 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He performs specialized orthopedic, neurologic, cancer, and soft tissue surgeries on dogs, cats, and small exotics at your family vet\u2019s hospital. After graduating in 1993 from the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Liege in Belgium, Dr. Zeltzman simultaneously worked as a general practitioner, emergency vet, and journalist for three years in his native city of Paris, France. He completed a one-year internship at the University of Georgia, followed by a three-year surgery residency at Surgical Referral Service in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. He then worked as a surgeon for four years at a surgical practice in Cincinnati, Ohio, and an additional four years at a surgical practice in Whitehall, Pennsylvania. He is a board-certified surgeon and a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, a coveted professional achievement Dr. Zeltzman is also a certified surgeon for the tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO), having performed thousands of these procedures in dogs from less than 30 pounds to more than 250 pounds! The results of his work have been very impressive. Dr. Zeltzman\u2019s interests include all aspects of soft tissue, orthopedic, cancer, reconstructive, and neuro surgery, as well as physical therapy and emergency cases. He also has a strong interest in the prevention and treatment of obesity. His newest endeavor is stem cell therapy for arthritis, kidney disease, liver disease, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), as well as tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA). 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He performs specialized orthopedic, neurologic, cancer, and soft tissue surgeries on dogs, cats, and small exotics at your family vet\u2019s hospital. After graduating in 1993 from the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Liege in Belgium, Dr. Zeltzman simultaneously worked as a general practitioner, emergency vet, and journalist for three years in his native city of Paris, France. He completed a one-year internship at the University of Georgia, followed by a three-year surgery residency at Surgical Referral Service in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. He then worked as a surgeon for four years at a surgical practice in Cincinnati, Ohio, and an additional four years at a surgical practice in Whitehall, Pennsylvania. He is a board-certified surgeon and a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, a coveted professional achievement Dr. Zeltzman is also a certified surgeon for the tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO), having performed thousands of these procedures in dogs from less than 30 pounds to more than 250 pounds! The results of his work have been very impressive. Dr. Zeltzman\u2019s interests include all aspects of soft tissue, orthopedic, cancer, reconstructive, and neuro surgery, as well as physical therapy and emergency cases. He also has a strong interest in the prevention and treatment of obesity. His newest endeavor is stem cell therapy for arthritis, kidney disease, liver disease, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), as well as tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA). Dr. Zeltzman knew he wanted to be a veterinarian since the age of 5 when his favorite TV shows were Flipper, Daktari, and Lassie. \u201cBecoming a veterinary surgeon has been a dream come true, and I am as passionate about my profession as I was when I first started,\u201d he says. In practice, Dr. Zeltzman\u2019s goal is to offer the best surgical care, the safest anesthesia, and the utmost pain management to all of his patients. Actively involved in teaching, lecturing, and publishing, both locally and internationally, Dr. Zeltzman has published two books: Cocker Spaniels: A Practical Guide for People Owned by a Cocker and Walk a Hound, Lose a Pound, a book on weight loss for both dogs and people, co-written with Rebecca Johnson. He also writes a monthly award-winning newsletter for true dog and cat lovers. It is read in all 50 States, as well as more than 40 foreign countries. This newsletter has evolved into his blog. As a Certified Veterinary Journalist (CVJ), blogger, columnist, and award-winning author, his goal is to write meaningful articles, newsletters, and books that will make a difference in the lives of pets and their owners. He has published numerous articles in national and international veterinary journals, and is currently working on several book projects. He is also a prolific speaker. Dr. Zeltzman is a member of the Cat Writers\u2019 Association, the Dog Writers\u2019 Association and the Authors\u2019 Guild. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the Lehigh Valley Veterinary Medical Association (LVVMA), and the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS). He is a monthly contributor to veterinarypracticenews.com and a regular contributor to Dog Fancy, PetsAdviser.com, and PetHealthNetwork.com.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DrZeltzman"],"url":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/author\/phil\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1809"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2258,"href":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1809\/revisions\/2258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}