Sublingual sialocele in a cat

A 1-year-old male neutered cat was presented with a right-sided swelling of the floor of the oral cavity, causing dysphagia and hypersialorrhoea for 2 months. Fine-needle aspiration of the mass and CT were suggestive of a right sublingual sialocoele with no obvious cause. Surgical resection of the ipsilateral sublingual-mandibular salivary gland complex, as well as marsupialisation of the mucocoele, was performed. The cat recovered uneventfully. Histopathological examination of the resected specimen confirmed the diagnosis. No sign of recurrence was reported 7 months after surgery.

Overall, sialocoeles are rare in cats but sublingual mucocoele is the most common form. Diagnosis is usually straightforward and the use of CT to help localise the affected site and possibly identify a cause has been infrequently described. Surgical treatment recommendations have been updated, which also makes a refresher of this uncommon condition likely to be of interest to the feline practitioner.