CASE REPORT article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Neurology and Neurosurgery
This article is part of the Research TopicCase Reports in Veterinary Neurology and Neurosurgery, Volume IIView all 17 articles
Treatment of hypersomatotropism in a diabetic dog with transsphenoidal hypophysectomy
Provisionally accepted
Anika Seline Meij1
Lucinda Luvia Van Stee2
Hedwig S Kruitwagen2
Robert C van Nieuwaal2
Guy C M Grinwis2
Sara Galac2
Björn Petrus Meij2*- 1Animal Referral Centre, Auckland, New Zealand
- 2Universiteit Utrecht Faculteit Diergeneeskunde, Utrecht, Netherlands
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Background: Pituitary somatotroph adenoma is rare in dogs and may cause hypersomatotropism leading to insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus. Case description: A 10-year-5-month-old neutered male Staffordshire Bull Terrier presented with polyuria, polydipsia, progressive inspiratory stridor, and poorly controlled diabetes mellitus with hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance. Serum insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) was markedly elevated (1214 ng/mL; reference interval, 42-449 ng/mL) and suggested hypersomatotropism which was further supported by a somatostatin suppression test. Magnetic resonance and computed tomography imaging revealed a pituitary mass, organomegaly, and arthropathy. Treatment and outcome: The pituitary mass was removed by transsphenoidal hypophysectomy. Immunohistochemistry confirmed a growth hormone-producing pituitary adenoma. Postoperatively, growth hormone normalized within hours, and IGF-1 values within a week. Although hypersomatotropism resolved and hyperinsulinemia improved postoperatively, the dog remained dependent on insulin and diabetes mellitus persisted which eventually led to euthanasia of the dog about 9 and a half months post-operatively. Conclusion: Transsphenoidal hypophysectomy was effective in normalization of growth hormone and IGF-1 concentrations in a dog diagnosed with a pituitary somatotroph adenoma but the postoperative course was characterized by persistent insulin dependency and diabetes mellitus.
Keywords: Acromegaly, Diabetes Mellitus, Growth Hormone, pituitary adenoma, veterinary neurosurgery
Received: 07 Nov 2025; Accepted: 06 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Meij, Van Stee, Kruitwagen, van Nieuwaal, Grinwis, Galac and Meij. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Björn Petrus Meij
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