One question - why?
If he is in that bad of shape that he may not survive, why put it through the trauma of the surgery? Does the Vet need practice? Is the crocodile in danger of extinction? Is it more needful to perform free care on an animal than a human? Since we can give away billions to the thieves that get outrageous, undeserved bonus', I guess a couple thousand on a protected species won't really matter and is actually going to a better cause.