Salivary Gland Blockage?

[Guest taylorsmom]

Hello everyone--

A few weeks ago I posted that Rita had a swelling under her jaw, that the vet has diagnosed as a salivary gland blockage of some sort. We did a week of antibiotics and it did not help, if anything it has gotten a bit bigger. It is soft and squooshy, almost the size of a golf ball at this point. I took her back in for a follow up this morning, and the vet rechecked lymph nodes, which are fine. So it seems to be a blocked gland, or a salivary mucocele. He said to just wait and watch it, and that down the line we could maybe get surgery to open it up, drain it, or remove it. It does not bother her at all, is not painful, and does not impinge on her eating or breathing. I certainly don't want to get unnecessary surgery, but I also don't want to miss something here either. He said we could take an X-ray or ultrasound the area just to see if there are any other growths or foreign bodies, which I am definitely inclined to do.

Has anyone had experience with this? If so, what was the treatment? When I look it up online, the treatment options don't seem too promising. Even draining it has its limitations.

Here are some pictures--it is the pouchy-looking bump right above her collar--

 

 

 

Thanks for any help!!

 

 

[turbotaina]

We have a foster that has a torn salivary gland. She occasionally gets fluid build up like your pup, but then it goes away. Her previous owner's vet said it was a cosmetic issue only and that does seem to be the case - it really doesn't seem to bother her at all.

[Windspiel]

We have a former foster who had to have her salivary glands drained several times - they were blocked and infected - and they were finally removed.

[Guest KennelMom]

Our old gal Star had a blocked salivary gland. We never did anything with it. We'd kinda massage her throat and that seemed to help move the fluids out, but it was always there. It never bothered her, our vet said it didn't hurt. Surgery wasn't an option for her due to other issues, but the vet said that even if it were he wouldn't recommend it. It just looks kinda funky and if we could live with, the dog certainly could.

 

 

She was 14 when we adopted her...not sure how long she'd had it before then.

[Guest greytkidsmom]

When it happens in people, we recommend sugar-free lemon drops to stimulate the production of saliva. The idea is that if there is a small stone blocking the duct, the extra "juice" will push it out and clear the blockage. Since you can't give candy to dogs, how about some lemon juice? Of course, that may be a little like teaching a pig to dance - frustrating for you and annoying to the pig.