Specialty Referral Practice

Radioactive Iodine Therapy (I-131) Treatment

The Radioactive Iodine Therapy (I-131) service at Santa Cruz Veterinary Hospital treats cats who suffer from hyperthyroidism. This treatment has many advantages over the more traditional therapies for hyperthyroidism, which include surgery or daily oral medications for the lifetime of the patient. Advantages include a success rate of 95%, avoidance of anesthetic risk due to surgery, and the convenience of no longer having to give daily medications. Radioactive Iodine Therapy (I-131) is considered the safest treatment available for hyperthyroidism. There are virtually no side effects reported. Rarely, some cats may require 2 or more treatments. Most cats return to normal thyroid function within 1 to 3 months after treatment.

Radioactive Iodine Therapy (I-131) Appointments -- The Radioactive Iodine Therapy (I-131) service, which provides radioactive iodine therapy for feline hyperthyroidism, is headed by Dr. Nancy Rinkardt, DACVIM. Treatments are performed at the radiation oncology center on a semi-monthly basis. Your cat will be admitted on a Monday and discharged from the hospital the following Friday. Please call our referral coordinator to schedule a consultation with Dr Rinkardt to evaluate how your hyperthyroid cat's quality of life may be improved with this treatment.

Radioactive Iodine Therapy (I-131) for hyperthyroid cats (88 kb PDF).