Clinical Presentation, Diagnosis, Treatment and Treatment Outcome of Salivary Mucoceles in Dogs: A Case Series

A salivary mucocele is an accumulation of saliva in tissue spaces consequent to a leak of a damaged salivary gland or duct. This article describes the clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment and treatment outcome of twenty one cases of salivary mucocele presented to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, University of Peradeniya. The age of the dogs ranged from two to ten years; the breeds included both local and crosses of imported breeds. The diagnoses of salivary mucocele in all cases were made on clinical presentation and confirmed by fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). All cytological smears displayed windrowing and contained increased numbers of neutrophils, haemosiderin-laden macrophages, haematoidin crystals and bacteria. The causes for salivary mucocele were identified as trauma and inflammation, salivary adenocarcinoma and idiopathic. All dogs were treated surgically under general anaesthesia; surgical drainage, with removal of affected salivary gland and surgical drainage with removal of salivary carcinoma. In addition to surgical intervention, the dogs were prescribed with antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs and an Elizabethan collar was applied to prevent self-trauma. The treatment outcome was excellent in all dogs except one dog which had a salivary gland adenocarcinoma that succumbed a few weeks following surgery, despite supportive management.