Fracture Femur Discal Surgery

Hello my cat is 1 year and 3 months. He started limping and I took him to the vet. They say he needs fracture femur discal surgery. Honestly I’m scared, what if surgery makes it worse? I also don’t have the money right now and need to save up for it. They gave me pain medication and joint chews. I posted the image of the x-ray on Facebook. Thank you.

Hello - It's ok to be concerned when your animal is offered surgery.  I'm afraid that I can no longer find the radiograph - would you be able to tag me in it?  I'm sure that I replied to a radiograph earlier asking someone to post it here, which might be the same one (I didn't look at it at the time and now am uable to find it!)  I think the first thing to ask your vets is, what 'fracture femur discal (distal? - as in the far end of the femur?) surgery' would look like for your cat; what is the exact problem, where is the fracture (you should be able to see it on the radiograph, usually looking from two or more different angles), and what different options are available to treat it.  What outcome is exepcted?  How many of these surgeries has the vet done? What complications have they seen (most surgeons have seen some complications)?  What alternatives are available?  How soon does this need to be done?  What will happen if the surgery is not carried out, or is carried out after a wait?  How do the outcomes compare?  If your vet is a GP vet, is there a more qualified surgeon who could operate instead and what is the implicit increase in cost vs medical gain?  It is important to have a good understanding of these issues in order that you can give informed consent for the operation.  Not every surgery is successful - another good question would be, 'how can we give my cat the best chance of a happy future life with the money that is available?'   Always be ready to talk to your vet about money; in my experience, they also want the best outcome for your cat.  If they are an employee of a practise, then to my understanding it is illegal for any profit from a particular surgery to impact directly on their paycheck; they shouldn't be under any pressure to sell a particular treatment.  In some situations, for example, amputation may be recommended as an ethical, lower-cost option to fracture repair; in these cases, healing can be quicker.  However, there may be reasons for this being less desirable; it depends on the case.  Second opinions can be given between surgeries or within them if there are several vets, but should always be done with consent.  I hope that something here is useful.