My dog's high ALT: Is anesthesia risky with liver concerns?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Yes, it is absolutely ok to go forward with anesthesia. A high ALT should be monitored and if persistent should be worked up to try to find out the cause. Sometimes a high ALT can be transient in which case it may resolve on its own. Other possible reasons include hepatitis, an infection, among other reasons. That number is not that high so monitoring would be appropriate. They could extend the panel to look for liver function tests to make sure that the liver is working completely fine just to be extra cautious. This would entail measuring bile acids. Good luck!

The normal range for ALT in dogs is 10-130; 185/190 is not really that high. We don't really considered the ALT as elevated until it is 2-3x the high end of normal. I personally, would not be worried about an ALT of 190. Yes, it could be slightly elevated due to anesthesia. I suggest you do nothing right now and just have the ALT rechecked (along with the other liver enzymes) in 6-8 weeks.

If the liver enzymes are elevated but liver function is normal there is probably not a significant increased risk under anesthesia. You could talk to your veterinarian about checking bile acids if it seems like this might be helpful; bile acids can help determine whether or not the liver is functioning normally. Sometimes a biliary mucocele is surgically corrected so you also may want to talk to your veterinarian about rechecking the mucocele if liver enzymes are still elevated.

Hi ! I was wondering if blood tests have been run to check for Cushing’s disease. This condition would also cause an elevation of liver enzymes. Regarding the teeth I would explore other possibilities that don ‘t include an anestesia ... first do no harm ! Hope this helps. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello, & thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. ALT is an enzyme that is released when liver cells are damaged. The normal values are usually less than 100. Unfortunately, the presence of the enzyme does not indicate the cause or reversibility of the damage, nor does it tell us if this is recent, but temporary damage, or on-going problems with the liver. Toxins, including plants, medications, such as steroids, viruses, & endocrine diseases can all cause increases in ALT. If Kobee is not having any problems, then I would recommend retesting in 6 weeks. If Kobee is sick, there are many more diagnostic tests that can be conducted to try & get to the cause of the problem. Often, we actually never find this out, & dogs do very, very well with moderately elevated values. We actually do not even get concerned until the values are at least 3xs normal, or there are other parameters that are abnormal. If Kobee is well, then all I might recommend is discussing with your vet about putting him on a neutroceutical called Denamarin. It can help with oxidative changes in the liver. I hope he does well. Take care.

ALT is one of the most important liver indicators in dogs and cats. It can also be elevated in dogs and cats when there is significant damage to the muscle, but in general it is thought of as a fairly sensitive marker for some type of liver damage. There are also several other markers for liver disease, so only knowing about the elevations in ALT may be misleading. If ALT was the only marker elevated, this is usually an indication of an inflammatory or infectious disease causing harm to the hepatic system. If you would like to discuss all of the laboratory testing and diagnostic imaging performed by your veterinarian, I would be able to take a closer look at your dog's situation. Let me know if I, or one of the other experts, can help you out in any way.

Hello. I am sorry to hear about Iako. ALT and AST can become VERY elevated so the values that you have listed are elevated, but only mildly/moderately so. The AST is mildly elevated. These enzymes need to be >2x for us to even look at them. ALP is usually elevated if the liver is irritated or 'upset'. This can also go up with exogenous steroid administration (which you likely got with the Addison's disease) so it depends on when these bloods were taken in relation to his diagnosis. Dehydration (which often occurs with an Addisonian crisis) or hypotension (also occurs) can make these values elevated. They are sensitive. I would recommend just getting the medications under control for the hypothyroidism and the Addisons, and rechecking the liver values 2 weeks after everything has settled down a bit. Good luck with Iako. The alternative is getting a liver biopsy, however I would just monitor and recheck the liver values first. I am not too concerned with these values.