Parotidectomy for the treatment of parotid sialocoele in 14 dogs

To describe the presentation, diagnosis, cause, complications and outcome in 14 dogs that presented with a parotid sialocoele and that were treated by complete parotidectomy.

Multi-institutional retrospective study.

Each dog presented with a non-painful, fluctuant, soft tissue mass over the lateral aspect of the face in the region of the parotid salivary gland. Diagnosis was made by sialoradiography (3/14), CT (3/14), ultrasound (11/14) and MRI (2/14). The cause of the sialocoele could be determined in 8 of 14 patients and included: foreign body (2/14), sialolithiasis (1/14), neoplasia (3/14), salivary gland lipomatosis (1/14) and trauma (1/14). Treatment incurred one anaesthetic complication (regurgitation) and seven postoperative surgical complications [self-limiting seroma formation (2/14), haemorrhage (1/14), wound dehiscence (1/14), abscessation 7 months postoperatively (1/14) and facial nerve paralysis (2/14)]. Sialocoele did not recur in any dog during a median follow-up time of 14 months.

Parotidectomy has been considered a technically challenging procedure but can have a good success rate with long-term resolution of the clinical symptoms. Intra- and postoperative complications are reasonably common.