Cosmetic Procedures In Veterinary Medicine

For a person who plans to go into Veterinary Medicine, they must take many controversial situations into consideration. Doctors in Veterinary Medicine must then make the decision they believe to be best and stand by that choice. A current controversial situation within animal medicine is cosmetic procedures. From ear cropping all the way to devocalization, there seems to always be two sides on whether it is justified. Reasonings for someone to choose to proceed with a cosmetic surgery vary from person to person. The decision is based on how someone views the topic. The choice of cosmetic procedures in animals has varied around the world throughout hundreds of years, and still today, we wonder whether it is ethical or not.
There are often situations

Alterations involving an animal’s appearance are discussed in the article “Cosmetic Procedures”, “Veterinarians specializing in ophthalmology may be able to surgically implant eye replacements for dogs that have lost their sight, as with glaucoma. Hobson notes, ‘In this case, the inside of the eye is removed, and a ball is inserted in its place’” (“Cosmetic Procedures”). These situations are examples of obvious instances that the appearance of an animal is the only reason for this procedure. There is no other way to look at this situation than the fact that it pleases the owner. The animal is put through the pain and stress of a surgery to fill a void that was not causing the animal any kind of pain such as being blind, which in no way can be fixed with this specific surgery. Declawing a cat takes away an everyday function, “... as might be implied by ‘declawing.’ Cats endure a long, painful recovery, with the possibility of complications such as infection, hemorrhage, nail regrowth, altered feeling in the toes, and a permanently altered gait” (Hamity 3). Deciding to declaw a cat is a more complex decision than most would think. During this procedure, cats lose more than the nail, they lose all nerves and cartilage that was around the nail bed, and they lose their only defense mechanism. This procedure changes a feline’s life tremendously often causing mood swings and behavioral changes. By

The controversial question will go unanswered for many years to come, but everyone has their reasons for why they believe they are right. Many risks must be taken into consideration when choosing to change an animals’ appearance. Will this procedure hurt or affect the animal’s way of life in the future? There are both negative and positive answers to this question that have been discussed. Deciding to proceed with these surgeries is controversial, but there are many sources to refer to when making a final