Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Trouble breathing from throat mucoceles in 14 dogs
By Benjamino, Kevin P et al.·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2012·Gulf Coast Veterinary Surgery, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Pharyngeal mucoceles in dogs: 14 cases.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 14 dogs, mostly miniature and toy poodles, were brought in for breathing problems caused by pharyngeal mucoceles, which are fluid-filled sacs in the throat. The dogs were diagnosed using a needle to sample the fluid, and most showed signs of inflammation in their salivary glands. Surgical treatment, which involved removing the affected glands or the mucocele itself, was performed on 13 dogs, and it was successful in most cases, with only two dogs experiencing a recurrence of the issue. Overall, the surgery helped the dogs breathe better and improved their quality of life.
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Abstract
This report describes the clinical features of a series of dogs with pharyngeal salivary mucoceles. A retrospective study of 14 dogs with pharyngeal mucocele was performed. Medical records from 1983 to 2003 were reviewed for information regarding signalment, clinical signs, diagnosis, surgical procedures, and short-term and long-term outcome. Miniature and toy poodles were common breeds in the study population, and 79% of the dogs were male. The most common presenting sign was dyspnea (50%). Diagnosis was by fine-needle aspirate, which revealed a mucoid substance in 93% of dogs. Histopathology of the excised salivary glands revealed lymphoplasmacytic inflammation in all dogs that had histopathology performed. Forty-three percent of the dogs had a cervical mucocele on the same side as the pharyngeal mucocele. Surgical therapy was performed in 13 dogs, which consisted of excision of the mandibular and sublingual salivary glands, excision of the mucocele, or marsupulization of the mucocele. Only two dogs had recurrence of the pharyngeal mucocele. In this study, pharyngeal mucoceles occurred in predominantly small dogs that frequently presented with respiratory signs. Surgical treatment was successful in most dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22186721/