I'm a tech in MA, and I can assure you that at our practice, we do not
do the surgeries.  We do do the dental cleanings and some extractions,
though those are generally only done by our techs who have been techs for
five to nine years, and are still usually doctor-supervised or done by
the doctor if they are tough extractions.  Occasionally our head tech
will do a cat neuter, but those are not sterile surgeries or complex like
a rabbit neuter, and even those are not done without owner permission-it
is very rare indeed that it happens at all.
 
We certainly would never be performing an adrenalectomy.  That's why vets
go to vet school (not that there's much going on in the way of teaching
ferret surgery at most of them, but at least they have studied and
practiced other surgeries).  Perhaps this tech was allowed to do this
because it was her own pet versus a client's, though even then, I am kind
of surprised.  I would certainly hope that that office does not do this
to unwitting clients' pets!
 
It's certainly worth expressing such concerns to any vet you go to and
getting assurances that this doesn't happen at their practice.
 
-April Armstrong Campbell
 
"I can't believe it!  Reading and writing actually paid off!"
-Homer Simpson, "The Simpsons"
[Posted in FML issue 4084]