Get Em & Fluid Accumulation Under His Jaw

[Guest goofydog]

This evening, approximately 2 hours after dinner, Get Em woke up from a nap and had what appears to be a fluid filled sac under is jaw. If standing in profile it's length is, in a line down, approximately from the outside corner of his eye to what I call his throat latch. I can manipulate it without any apparent discomfort to him, he isn't in any respiratory distress, gums are pink and cap refill is less than 2 seconds.

 

His activity level this morning and evening is normal, no changes in diet, pee & poo as usual, temp is normal, no recent weight loss. We have had high pollen counts of fall allergens recently, however he has not had any allergy issues in the past. Off and on for the past year or so he has had occasional hacking/coughing that sounds more like he is trying to clear a hairball. Vaccinations are all current including lepto since we regularly visit the dog park which has communal drinking sources. No flames please, he loves it and I carefully pick the times we go and the other dogs present on arrival.

 

His only health challenge is toxoplasmosis, vector of feral kitty poop 3 years ago, which is what led to the removal of his left eye just over a year ago. He has been in remission for the last year and his blood level titre 6 months ago confirmed this. He isn't showing any signs that the toxo has resurfaced in active form and nothing leading up to this evenings presentation indicates a change in that status. I have left a voice mail at his regular vet for an appointment tomorrow and will call again in the AM to confirm a time.

 

Does this sound like anything any of you have experienced with your hound(s)? Since he isn't showing any signs of distress I'm at odds over whether this merits a trip to the evet, though I will be spending the night on the sofa tonight so that I can monitor his condition

 

I apologize if I rambled and thanks for reading it through. Your thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated.

 

Toni

 

UPDATE 09.21.11

 

Well, Dr. Hopkins couldn't find any swollen lymph nodes, YAY! He believes it is a ruptured sublingual salivary gland and wants me to apply warm compresses several times a day for the next 5 days to see if the pouch will reduce and Get

Em's body will reabsorb the fluid. I'm to call him next Monday with any news. If this doesn't work we may be referred for surgical removal of the ruptured gland. Dr. Hopkins doesn't feel comfortable doing the procedure so he would refer us

out and I appreciated his candor on that point.

 

He wondered if I would be able to apply the compress for at least 10 minutes each time and laughed when I told him that I was sure that sometime during the 20 hours a day he sleeps I'll be able to squeeze a few times in!

 

Fingers crossed this treatment does the trick.

Edited September 21, 2011 by goofydog

[KF_in_Georgia]

Toni, no advice from me, and I'm with you in wondering if it merits an e-vet visit. Can you feel his lymph nodes? Does one side feel larger than the other? Maybe it's just a blocked salivary gland.

 

Thinking of you both.

[Guest goofydog]

Toni, no advice from me, and I'm with you in wondering if it merits an e-vet visit. Can you feel his lymph nodes? Does one side feel larger than the other? Maybe it's just a blocked salivary gland.

 

Thinking of you both.

 

Thanks Kathy! I've had a couple of calls and emails suggesting the blocked salivary gland dx and after I looked it up in Care of the Racing & Retired GH the pics are very close to what he is presenting with. I'll still keep an eye on him this evening and get him to the vet tomorrow for, hopefully, a definitive dx.

 

T

[Neighsayer]

When I got Meeka in February, she had a pouch under her jaw. She is 12.5 years old, and has had it for several years. I reviewed her medical records with my vet. She had several episodes of blocked salivary glands and eventually had one removed. She also had a salivary tumor. We don't have all her records, but this pouch seems to have been with her for years. There are reports of having it drained several times, and there is a scar on the bottom from a possible incision. The pouch sometimes seems to have fluid inside, but often appears empty. Records indicate that saliva and pus were removed in the past. It doesn't bother her and my vet said to leave it alone. We are not sure how long she had it or just how it came about. I never thought that it could have developed overnight, but I never asked. I am more concerned with her kidney disease than her turkey neck.

Hope you figure it out and get it resolved soon. Good luck!

[KF_in_Georgia]

Toni, our dogs just insist on keeping us hopping. Silver has been here four weeks today, and she just had her third vet visit in that time. No rest for the weary. (Or for the weary's wallet.)

 

And I'm not sure why dogs insist on waiting to get sick until after we've just spent a bundle on auction items...

[maggiespet]

No experience with this Toni - but prayers and good thoughts coming for that special guy. Maggie sends a smooch for Get Em. Hug for you.

[TheFullHouse]

Hope Get Em feels better soon.

[Guest goofydog]

Well, at 11PM it was gone then back again at 4AM but not as pronounced. We will be going to the vet after work today.

 

Thanks for your input and well wishes!

[gazehund]

No experience. Tons of good thoughts for my favorite pirate boy and his wench...er...Mom.

[heartdogs]

Traveler has the same thing & the vet said it is edema from whatever bit him. His is still there but smaller & doesn't seem to bother him, I'm just to keep my eye on it.

[Guest KennelMom]

We've had this come up in house due to infection. The vet showed me one time how to feel the difference between the lymph node in the throat and the salivary gland nearby, but of course I don't remember what they told me We also had a senior that had a chronic blocked salivary gland and always had a lump under her jaw. Nothing really to do in that case...it wasn't painful for her, just looked odd.

 

Hugs and scritches to Get Em

[Guest Smiley]

I'm not sure if it's the same thing, but I know DevilDog's Roscoe had something similiar a year or so ago. You may want to get in touch with her. I can't remember what the diagnosis/treatment was, but I remember the pix of Roscoe showing an enlarged, fluidy-looking neck.

[Rickiesmom]

Just seeing this Toni, and sending good thoughts for the Pirate. I don't know whether to hope it's gone by the time you get home, or to hope it's still there so the vet can see it and advise.

 

The girls and I will be watching for an update.

[DevilDog]

Here we go my link

 

It started off as an eye problem, but as you read on, it changes to what we 'think' was a salivary gland issue.

[Guest goofydog]

Thanks Lisa. We have 4:30 appt this afternoon. Fingers crossed it's minor.

[greypuppyluv]

When we got Peeps from the South Central LA shelter this past April, he had a blocked salivary gland:

 

 

 

You can view more pictures here.

 

GAC's vet didn't do surgery because she's found that many times, they just get blocked up again. I don't know if this is what Get Em has, but I thought I would share some pictures in case you'd like to see if it's similar to what Peeps had.

[Guest goofydog]

Yup, tht's what his looks like, just not quite as large. What treatment did the group vet recommend?

 

 

 

When we got Peeps from the South Central LA shelter this past April, he had a blocked salivary gland:

 

 

 

You can view more pictures here.

 

GAC's vet didn't do surgery because she's found that many times, they just get blocked up again. I don't know if this is what Get Em has, but I thought I would share some pictures in case you'd like to see if it's similar to what Peeps had.

 

Back from the vet, update in post 1.

[macoduck]

For Get Em: :dogcookie for having a semi-hamster- like pouch.

 

For Mom: for taking good care of Get Em.

[Burpdog]

Sending lots of prayers for diminishing fluid!

[TheFullHouse]

Hope the hot compresses do the trick.

[greypuppyluv]

Yup, tht's what his looks like, just not quite as large. What treatment did the group vet recommend?

 

 

I think they've just left it alone. The adopter knew what Peeps had when he adopted him and that the vet said it probably wouldn't go away and the adopter was fine with it. I don't think it bothers him (Peeps).

 

Maybe since you've caught Get Em's early, putting the warm compresses on it might help? I would think that Peeps had his for quite awhile and was probably one of the reasons he was turned in to the shelter (he was non-tattooed so we have no background on him).....don't know that if his was caught early if anything could have been done to fix it. GAC's vet has done the surgery to remove it but has had it come back so she just leaves them alone now.

[gazehund]

Keeps us posted please Toni. Hope the warm compresses work.

[Guest goofydog]

Yup, tht's what his looks like, just not quite as large. What treatment did the group vet recommend?

 

 

I think they've just left it alone. The adopter knew what Peeps had when he adopted him and that the vet said it probably wouldn't go away and the adopter was fine with it. I don't think it bothers him (Peeps).

 

Maybe since you've caught Get Em's early, putting the warm compresses on it might help? I would think that Peeps had his for quite awhile and was probably one of the reasons he was turned in to the shelter (he was non-tattooed so we have no background on him).....don't know that if his was caught early if anything could have been done to fix it. GAC's vet has done the surgery to remove it but has had it come back so she just leaves them alone now.

 

Thanks Paula! Good information to have in the case of a surgical referral.

 

Excerpt from the 'Care Of..... 'bible, page 360:

 

Although the thick saliva can be drained away using a large-bore hypodermic needle or a small incision with a scalpel, the benefit is only temporary. Surgical removal of the offending salivary glands results in total recovery with no residual digestive or performance problem for the patient."

 

The vet did use a small-bore needle to aspirate a bit of the fluid and it was blood tinged,fairly thick mucous/saliva.

 

Lots to think about, options to consider and process over the next 5 days. I have to give my sweet boy credit as he stood quietly while being poked, prodded and stuck today.

[Guest wmlcml6]

Rosemary swelled up like that once. Scared me to death. We thought maybe a spider bite, so we gave benedryl. It did make the swelling reduce after the 2nd dose, so the vet said that was probably the right diagnosis. I think he may have given her a shot of something to reduce swelling even faster.

 

I had a racer one time that got kennel cough pretty bad. Afterward, she developed a saggy looking spot on her neck. Vet couldn't find anything wrong, and it took awhile for it to go away, but finally did on its own. I could totally be wrong, but I remember thinking that maybe she tore a muscle coughing so much.

 

I hope Get Em is ok and heals up quickly.

Edited September 21, 2011 by wmlcml6

[Guest goofydog]

Rosemary swelled up like that once. Scared me to death. We thought maybe a spider bite, so we gave benedryl. It did make the swelling reduce after the 2nd dose, so the vet said that was probably the right diagnosis. I think he may have given her a shot of something to reduce swelling even faster.

 

I had a racer one time that got kennel cough pretty bad. Afterward, she developed a saggy looking spot on her neck. Vet couldn't find anything wrong, and it took awhile for it to go away, but finally did on its own. I could totally be wrong, but I remember thinking that maybe she tore a muscle coughing so much.

 

I hope Get Em is ok and heals up quickly.

 

More great info to consider, thanks Cathie! While not frequent, his hacking/cough can be a tad strenuous so the muscle strain/tear is something else to keep in mind.