Claiming there's no waiting in Europe is idiotic. Claiming Europe is bad because there's waiting is similarly idiotic, given the fact that US has significant wait times for procedures and specialists as well.

As for using the term "elective", I would use that term, given it has a specific definition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elective_surgery

> Elective surgery or elective procedure (from the Latin eligere, meaning to choose) is surgery that is scheduled in advance because it does not involve a medical emergency. Semi-elective surgery is a surgery that must be done to preserve the patient's life, but does not need to be performed immediately.