Q: "My ferret just had a surgery (adrenal)....which cost me $200.  I only
    spent $100 for the ferret....why do vets charge so much?"
 
A:  Say this when you discover you have an adrenal tumor.
 
I have to say that $200 for adrenal surgery is not bad; in fact, it is
probably on the light side.  The real question is, is it reasonable?
 
Regardless of what you might think, surgery on animals follows the same
basic protocols as on humans.  Sure, some vets still just don gloves and
hack away, but most attempt to provide as much of a human-like surgical
protocol as possible for their animal patients.  Consider what is necessary
for the surgical cure of a human with an adrenal tumor.  You need a main
doctor, an assistant to help retract and stuff, a person to assist both by
handing instruments and sutures to them, a person to put the patient to
sleep and monitor their vital signs, and a person in the room to get stuff
for the doctors when they need it.  That's five people you have to pay,
just for the surgery alone.  It doesn't count lab people, nurses, even the
people who clean the room.
 
Ever watch Animal Planet's "Emergency Vet?" When they do a surgery, they
have about the same amount of people and use about the same amount of
equipment as in human surgery.  And they charge about $1000- 2000 for major
surgery, or at least that is what I gather from the taped discussions with
clients.  Now, to pay for all that equipment and all those people, $1000 is
probably fair.  But vets have a problem; MANY, MANY people regard pets as
property and see surgical or medical costs in terms of animal value.  In
other words, if the cost of fixing the animal is in excess of the perceived
value, the vet is often told to euthanize rather than cure.  So, vets are
forced to reduce the cost of the cure to a point where people will see the
treatment as cost effective.  They do this by paying their help as little
as possible, charging for office visits above the cost of treatment,
charging a little more for shots, by not buying as much equipment, and by
reducing the amount of people involved in things like surgical procedures.
In a typical ferret adrenal surgery, the vet is very lucky if they have
more than just one other person helping them.  Each person helping costs
the vet money.  Who should pay for it?
 
That is one reason (of many reasons) why ferrets are frequently
anesthetized by injection rather than gas; gas usually requires someone to
monitor the ferret continuously.  It saves the cost of a person standing
there the entire surgery; with an injection, you can put a ferret out, then
wake it up with another shot when finished.  Vets save money by not hiring
people to pass instruments, or buying a better X-ray machine, or dozens of
machines which would make diagnosis easier or more reliable or even simply
faster.  Most vets do all they can to keep costs as low as possible and
STILL people complain about the cost of a rabies or distemper shot.
EVERYTHING a vet buys to make surgery or treatment better or safer COSTS
THEM MONEY, and the more things cost, the more animals are euthanized
simply because their cost of care exceeds their value.
 
Complicating the issue is that pet owners tend to expect the SAME level of
medical care for their pets as for themselves.  What they want is the best
medical care money can buy at below minimum wage prices.  A vet must comply
with this demand at the risk of contracting a zoonotic disease, or serious
injury.  One of my vets, who carefully nursed Jet back to life several
times, was killed last year when kicked in the head by a horse he was
treating.  Veterinary work is difficult, time consuming, dangerous, and
offers little monetary compensation for the time involved in education or
the work involved in practice.  If they charge what they are worth, animals
die.  Would a mechanic or plumber lower costs if you threatened to demolish
your house because you couldn't afford the repair?  If you ask me, vets are
required to perform miracles at discount prices.  Be thankful you still
have your ferret, helped by someone who is probably not earning as much as
a plumber.  And it only cost you $200.
 
Bob C and 16 Mo' Vet Vindicators
[Posted in FML issue 3050]