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Thursday, May 19, 2011

Does a vasectomy equal surgery?

N is nervous about having her tonsils removed, which I understand.  Surgery is scary in general, and especially when you're a kid.  I told her that right now she is odd man out in the family since everyone else has had surgery.  She asked how many surgeries everyone has had.

I told her that M has had one (ear tubes).
G has had two.  (Ear tubes placed and ear tubes removed).
D told her he has had 2 surgeries.  I knew the gallbladder removal was one, and I thought the other might be something from his childhood that I forgot about.  When I asked, "What is the 2nd one?," he motioned towards his "boys."  

I asked if that counted as surgery since he wasn't out completely; it was only local anesthesia.  He then said if that was the case then my c-sections didn't count as surgery since I wasn't out completely under general anesthesia.  

If his vasectomy counts as surgery, then so does having two of my moles removed since I had local anesthesia and stitches.  And so does having my c-section incision sliced open when it was infected because they used local anesthesia for that and a lancet.   

As far as I'm concerned a vasectomy and mole removal and wisdom teeth removal are "procedures," not surgery.  Anything that involves an actual anesthesiologist is surgery. 

Who's with me?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasectomy

"... a surgical procedure ..."

Kelsey said...

I vote procedure as well.