Medical Question

[Jules89]

Just a short one!!

I was wondering if unblocking (for blocked urethra) is considered a surgery? Or if a vet said "surgery" would they be referring to the Perineal Urethrostomy?

 

[Sandy Beach]

My vet put Elvis under general anesthesia to insert the catheter to unblock him, then it stayed in for a day or two, so I would consider that a type of surgery.
Surgery by definition is the treatment of injuries or disorders of the body by incision or manipulation, especially with instruments.
Hope that helps. Make sure they are clear with you about what type of procedure they plan to move forward with.

 

[neely]

Welcome to TCS! I'm glad you joined the forum and came here for support.
Just out of curiosity, is this question about your cat and what is their age? If so, I thought this Article might be somewhat helpful for you:
Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (flutd)

Best of luck, please keep us updated on your progress.

 

[Jem]

Some cats will allow or be able to have a catheter inserted without any medication.
Some cats will need sedation to be able to have a catheter inserted.
Some cats will need to be put under general anesthesia to have a catheter inserted.
Some cats will need to have the catheter surgically placed, to be removed at a later date. (Cystotomy)
And of course there is the corrective surgery Perineal Urethrostomy.

There may be a few other options for blockages that I can't remember at the moment. But I would ask the vet exactly what he means when he says "surgery". I myself would not consider the first two options as "surgery", but when you are getting into having to put a cat under general anesthesia for any procedure, that I assume could mean "surgery".

 

[abyeb]

I think that for unblocking, cats are under anesthetic. So, I think it would be technically a type of surgery, but a minimally invasive one. Your vet will still probably run pre-anesthetic blood work, and keep him around for a few hours after the procedure, for monitoring. Perineal urethrostomy is more involved, but I don’t think it’s one of the most complicated; as far as surgeries go.