Garak volunteers. He 100% approves of fully committing to a deception, and anyway, a little minor surgery seems like a fair trade to get A) Julian’s extreme gratitude and B) Julian’s hands on him.

any medical procedure involving the removal or repair of bodily tissue is technically a surgery, garak just came in to get his little claws trimmed 🦀

Or maybe he lets Julian fix the carpal tunnel he’s starting to get. He wasn’t going to admit the weakness, but if he can frame it as a favor, that’s acceptable.

Julian goes along in the interest of Garak’s health. “You’re right, this is hardly worth bothering with, but I appreciate you helping me out anyway.”

24th century medical technology means Garak could easily be back at work the next day with no discomfort. Any doctor would know that. 

One particular doctor doesn’t see the need to mention that at any point over the next three days he spends following the tailor around, taking over any task that might stress Garak’s wrists as they ‘fully recover’.

Purely in the interest of his physical well-being. Everyone knew how dedicated Julian was to his patients. It would be damaging to his reputation as a doctor if he neglected one and Garak healed poorly as a result. 

Ok but I am LOVING the mental image of like. A direct cut from this scene to Julian delicately trimming Garak’s claws and listening to him talk about his latest reading