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]