See the Full Issue
March 2024: The Behavior Issue
Case Report of the Month
Can a foreign body cause the condition known as sialadenosis, or enlarged salivary glands? New research in the Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association (JAAHA) says yes.
When Fetch Goes Terribly Wrong
Can a foreign body cause the condition known as sialadenosis, or enlarged salivary glands? New research in the Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association (JAAHA) says yes.
In this case, reported in the latest issue of JAAHA, a 3-year-old female spayed Labrador retriever was referred for the treatment of a chronic oropharyngeal stick injury. After the initial injury, which had occurred six weeks prior, the owners reported the dog was yelping, coughing, gagging, and bleeding from the mouth. However, an initial radiograph failed to find any foreign body in the dog’s oropharynx and the dog was released with several medications including prednisolone.
However, when cervical swelling reoccurred after the prednisolone dose was decreased, the dog was sent to a referral practice. There, a computed tomography scan revealed a right-sided cervical abscess that contained a 10-cm-long wooden stick, adjacent to the vagosympathetic trunk and carotid artery.
The veterinary team was able to remove the stick and treated the dog with a variety of medications, which she initially responded well to. However, four weeks later, the dog was back.
Read the outcome in the full report, “Development of Presumptive Sialadenosis Following a Chronic Oropharyngeal Stick Injury in a Dog,” in the current issue of JAAHA at jaaha.org.