Dogs and cats have four major salivary glands (on each side): the parotid, mandibular, sublingual and zygomatic. This discussion centers around surgery to remove the mandibular and sublingual glands which are the ones most commonly affected.

Removal of the salivary glands and the shared duct is performed to stop leakage of saliva from the salivary glands or the duct into the surrounding soft tissues. The cause of leakage is often not known but can be due to trauma, stones in the duct, foreign bodies and neoplasia.

First the diagnosis must be confirmed. Your vet will do a physical examination and take a sample of fluid from the swollen area. The swelling is likely to be at the angle of the jaw, under the neck or under the tongue (called a ranula). In these cases the fluid will be thick and usually blood tinged. Your vet may need to submit the sample to a pathologist for a definitive answer.

Several management options are available;

• Periodic drainage of saliva from the swollen area is only successful in a small percentage of patients.

• Ranula’s can be marsupialised. This means the wall of the swelling is cut out and the edges are stitched down. This may only provide temporary resolution.

• Resection of the offending gland and duct provides permanent resolution of the problem. Your pet will have a wound where the gland was removed.

Removal of the mandibular and sublingual salivary glands is a fairly benign procedure and resolves the problem in the vast majority of cases.

WHAT CAN GO WRONG?

Whilst the vast majority of procedures result in success, there are a number of potential complications that can occur. Every step possible is taken along the way to minimise the risk of complications and therefore maximise the chances of a good outcome.

Potential complications include: wound infection and temporary swallowing abnormalities. Failure to remove all of the gland and duct can result in recurrence of swelling.

Once your pet is confirmed as a surgical candidate, a date for surgery will be arranged. This procedure is generally considered to be ‘non urgent’ and any build up of saliva can be periodically drained if required between the time of diagnosis and the surgery date. In cases where a ranula is causing difficulty swallowing or breathing, it is more urgent to schedule surgery. Most dogs are well enough to go home on the day of surgery. We supply pain relieving drugs +/- antibiotics. Your dog will need to be kept indoors for two weeks and wear an Elizabethan collar to keep the wound clean. They can be taken outside for toileting as needed. After two weeks your dog should be fully recovered and can return to normal activity.

What you need to do BEFORE the day of surgery:

• Read the Post Surgery Care Instructions for Salivary Gland Removal (link below).

• Arrange a skin check, and if necessary a pre-anaesthetic blood test, 7-10 days before surgery. If your dog has any skin lesions, a medicated body wash and antibiotics may be prescribed. If skin lesions are found on the day of surgery, this may result in the procedure being rescheduled to a later date due to the risk of infection.

• Wash your dog the weekend or day before surgery. This will reduce the time spent under anaesthesia cleaning your dog on the day of surgery.

• Consider “enrichment” for your dog in the postoperative recovery period (eg stuffable toys, sniffing games, food dispensing toys, chewing and licking time etc)

View, download or print these post surgery care instructions for Salivary Gland Removal.