Outcomes for dogs with primary hyperparathyroidism following treatment with percutaneous ultrasound-guided ethanol ablation of presumed functional parathyroid nodules: 27 cases (2008–2011)

Abstract Objective—To describe outcomes for dogs with primary hyperparathyroidism following treatment with percutaneous ultrasound-guided ethanol ablation of presumed functional parathyroid nodules. Design—Retrospective case series. Animals—24 dogs with primary hyperparathyroidism that underwent 27 ultrasound-guided ethanol ablation procedures of presumed functional parathyroid nodules identified by cervical ultrasonography. Procedures—Dogs were anesthetized for each procedure. For each nodule, 95% ethanol was injected into the center with ultrasound guidance (volume injected calculated on the basis of ultrasonographic measurements). The interval from treatment to resolution of hypercalcemia, complications, and follow-up clinicopathologic data were recorded. Results—5 procedures involved simultaneous treatment of 2 nodules. Three dogs underwent a second treatment because of initial treatment failure or development of another nodule. Hypercalcemia resolved after 23 of 27 (85%) procedures. In those 23 treatments, 22 (96%) had resolution of hypercalcemia within 72 hours after treatment. Hypocalcemia was detected in 6 different dogs at 2 (1 dog), 7 (3 dogs), 14 (1 dog), and 21 (1 dog) days after treatment; 5 of these dogs had mild transient hypocalcemia and 1 developed clinical signs requiring calcium supplementation. Although there were no periprocedural adverse effects, 2 dogs had delayed adverse effects; the overall rate of complications (including delayed adverse events and clinical hypocalcemia) was 11.1%. Long-term follow-up data indicated sustained normocalcemia in 17 of 19 dogs. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results suggested that percutaneous ultrasound-guided ethanol ablation of functional parathyroid nodules may be an effective treatment for primary hyperparathyroidism of dogs, with short duration of anesthesia, minimal complications, and low risk for hypocalcemia. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2015;247:771–777)