Dissolution of cholelithiasis in a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel receiving conservative management with ursodeoxycholic acid

A six-year-old female neutered Cavalier King Charles Spaniel presented with recurrent diarrhoea, intermittent vomiting and anorexia. She was diagnosed with partially obstructive cholelithiasis with concurrent suspected chronic pancreatitis based on abdominal ultrasonography and blood biochemistry. The dog responded to conservative management with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), paracetamol and a low-fat diet with resolution of clinical signs attributable to obstructive cholelithiasis and near-complete dissolution of the cholelith at follow-up eight months after presentation. In human medicine, UDCA has been reported to be effective in cholelith dissolution, prevention of cholelith formation and resolution of clinical signs due to cholelithiasis but the non-surgical literature in veterinary medicine is limited. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported case of dissolution of a cholelith in a dog receiving conservative management.