As pet owners witness their furry friend undergo surgery at the cost of thousands of pounds, these procedures are educating scientists and surgeons about human diseases too, an article in The Guardianhas reported.

As surgery into pets deepens in terms of both complexity and intensity, more unique procedures are being carried out on a daily basis in the veterinary world – and surgeons can transfer the lessons learnt here into the human health industry. A variety of diseases are shared by both humans and animals, allowing researchers to pick up vital information learned from performing successful surgeries on animals and applying to the future treatment of humans.

Whilst millions of pounds are spent on replicating diseases that occur in humans, a great deal of time and money can be saved by instead investigating these diseases that occur naturally in animals, according to Stijn Niessen, a lecturer of internal medicine at the Royal Veterinary College’s Queen Mother Hospital for Animals (QMHA).

This philosophy is especially useful for being applied to illnesses and diseases that are particularly rare in humans, but more common in animals. Niessen goes on to tell us that diseases act in a much similar way between humans and cats or dogs rather than rodents such as mice, and are therefore more likely to offer scientists and researchers much more credible results.

Surgical advancements in veterinary care could go on to assist medical professionals in developing cures for serious human illnesses, tumors and diseases.