Salivary glands very rarely suffer from disease, and cancer or stones of the salivary system are exceptionally rare. The most common disease of the salivary glands is leakage of saliva from a damaged salivary duct. As this may be due to trauma, I recommend not considering surgery for six weeks after clinical signs first appear as some of them resolve spontaneously. For those that don’t, treatment is by removal of the salivary glands attached to the leaking ducts. The location of the leaked saliva gives the best indication of which gland is the problem.

Milo, a very sweet Dachshund, had a swelling under his chin, and tests of the fluid confirmed it was saliva. Having waited long enough to know it wouldn’t resolve, he had surgery. Milo’s swelling was unusual as it was on the midline when he had his surgery, which makes it hard to know whether it is coming from a leak on the left or the right. Fortunately, his vet had noted that it seemed slightly more to one side when it first started, and it seemed to tip more to one side when he was lying on his back. Regardless, surgery was planned so that both sides could be removed if it wasn’t clear where the leak was coming from, as dogs have a lot of salivary glands, and they can make enough saliva even if the four largest glands are removed. A surgical approach on the side that the leak was most likely to be on started with dissection around the fluid swelling, which clearly showed the leak was coming from one side. The two salivary glands that drained into the duct were removed, as well as the full length of the duct and the small islands of salivary tissue located along the length of the duct.

Complications after surgery are very rare and removal of the whole length of the duct with all associated salivary tissue prevents reformation of the mucocele. Once treated, the other salivary glands produce a normal volume and consistency of saliva, and the same problem occurring to other salivary ducts is not expected.

Salivary mucocele can sometimes be seen as a complication of oral surgery, including mandibulectomy (removal of part of the lower jaw, normally performed for the treatment of cancer of the lower jawbone). As with other traumatic causes of salivary mucocele, these normally resolve spontaneously without needing to remove the salivary glands.