Surgical description and outcome of ultrasound‐guided minimally invasive parathyroidectomy in 50 dogs with primary hyperparathyroidism

Objective To describe the surgical technique and clinical outcome of minimally invasive parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) in the dog. Animals Fifty client‐owned dogs with PHPT that underwent minimally invasive parathyroidectomy. Study design Retrospective cohort study. Methods An ultrasound‐guided mini lateral approach was made via a plane established between the sternocephalicus muscle and sternohyoideus muscles to expose the thyroid gland and enlarged parathyroid gland. Abnormal parathyroid glands were removed en bloc via partial thyroidectomy. The technique for bilateral disease was similar, the skin incision was made on midline and moved laterally to develop the above‐mentioned plane of dissection. Age, sex, breed, bodyweight, ultrasound findings, histopathological diagnosis, surgical time, preoperative clinical signs, and clinical outcome were extracted from the records for descriptive statistics. Results A total of 62 glands were surgically removed, including 17 hyperplastic glands (17/62, 27.4%), 34 adenomas (34/62, 54.8%), and two carcinomas (2/62, 3.2%). Hypercalcemia resolved shortly after surgery in 44 dogs (44/45, 97.8%). One dog had recurrent hypercalcemia (1/45, 2.2%), one dog had persistent hypercalcemia (1/45, 2.2%), two dogs had permanent hypocalcemia requiring life‐long calcitriol supplementation (2/45, 4.4%), and one dog died from clinical hypocalcemia (1/45, 2.2%). Conclusion Minimally invasive parathyroidectomy was associated with a low morbidity and led to favorable outcomes in 44/45 dogs in this series. Clinical significance The results of this study supports the use of minimally invasive parathyroidectomy to treat PHPT in dogs.