All of a sudden I noticed Minnie (my 14 yo 5.7kg pet) had a lumpy sac the size of a jumbo Kalamata olive developing inside of her mouth – I feared the worst.
Minnie’s awesome vet Dr Gustav at Green Cross Biggera Waters identified it was a salivary gland condition where the saliva doesn’t drain so a sac forms. I was assured it’s not painful and as long as it doesn’t block the dogs windpipe there is nothing to worry about. The sac just looks unsightly and may be slightly uncomfortable for the dog if the sac fills up and the pet struggles to chew or eat and has to manoeuvre the tongue around it.
I was assured it was harmless and in Minnie’s situation it was not considered life threatening or blocking her airways. Minnie continued to eat, drink and behave normally. Initially no treatment was needed. As the months went by Minnie’s meals were cut into tiny pieces or softer cuts like mince to avoid over chewing as the gland on some days was protruding and in the way of her bite. Dr Gustav offered a non invasive option to help to drain the sac by expressing the gland using a syringe, again Minnie handled this well and was not bothered!
Unfortunately the frequency of the drainage became weekly and after 3 months it was clear that this was not a long term solution. The sac had doubled in size.
Every time the sac was drained, a course of antibiotics was required, and this did disturb Minnie’s stomach gut flora. Consulting with Minnie’s vet, Dr Gustav offered probiotics which helped. Of course surgery was an option all along however given Minnie’s age, heart problem, and the risk of an anaesthetic, conservative approach was recommended.
But I learned that Dogs have two saliva glands on each underside of their tongue and can live normally with one saliva gland.
Eventually Minnie started showing signs of being bothered when eating, because her tongue was hanging out of her mouth and was uncomfortable with the saliva weekly expressing so Minnie was referred to SASH’s Dr James King. From the moment I entered SASH Gold Coast, I was very impressed by the facility, the helpful and friendly staff and Dr James was excellent and thorough in providing his opinion. He answered questions with Minnie’s best interest in mind and that extra precautions would be carried out involving onsite anaesthetist (Dr Shaun) to monitor Minnie’s situation, and at my request that Minnie have early morning surgery so that she could come home that afternoon to help recovery and lessen her anxiety all being well.
And that’s what actually happened once all consultation and checks were done, and my Minnie had her surgery in September 2025.
Dr James kept me updated on Minnie via text messages before and after the procedure and in preparation to be discharged, so the updates continued along the way which was comforting, the surgery was done in a short time with no complications to her heart as SASH team continued to monitor her vital signs. Also Dr James was very pleased with Minnie’s post op checkup!
Nearly 3 months post op, Minnie is back to her usual self. Eating and enjoying her meals normally again. I am really grateful to SASH for a state of the art facility for small animals, the excellent veterinarians and team that demonstrating kindness and respect for the welfare of animals. It was an excellent outcome giving Minnie back her quality of life.
– Gold Coast QLD
