How to treat salivary mucocele of your dog❓❓❓❓❓❓❓

A salivary mucocele (or sialocele) is an accumulation of saliva in the submucosal or subcutaneous tissues after damage to the salivary duct or gland capsule. This is the most common salivary gland disorder of dogs. Although any of the salivary glands may be affected, the ducts of the sublingual and mandibular glands are involved most commonly. Saliva often collects in the intermandibular or cranial cervical area (cervical mucocele). It can also collect in the sublingual tissues on the floor of the mouth (sublingual mucocele or ranula). A less common site is in the pharyngeal wall (pharyngeal mucocele) or lower eyelid (zygomatic mucocele).
The cause may be traumatic or inflammatory blockage or rupture of the duct or capsule (with damage of parenchyma) of the sublingual, mandibular, parotid, or zygomatic salivary gland. Usually, the exact cause is not determined, but a developmental predisposition in dogs has been suggested.
Signs depend on the site of saliva accumulation. In the acute phase of saliva accumulation, the inflammatory response results in the area being swollen and painful. Frequently, this stage is not seen by the owner, and the first noticed sign may be a nonpainful, slowly enlarging, fluctuant mass, frequently in the cervical region. A ranula may not be seen until it is traumatized and bleeds. A pharyngeal mucocele can obstruct the airways and result in moderate to severe respiratory distress. A zygomatic mucocele may result in exophthalmos or enophthalmos, depending on its size and location.
A mucocele is detectable as a soft, fluctuant, painless mass that must be differentiated from abscesses, tumors, and other retention cysts of the neck. Pain or fever may be present if the mucocele becomes infected. A salivary mucocele usually can be diagnosed by palpation and aspiration of light brown or blood-tinged, viscous saliva. Usually, careful palpation with the animal in dorsal recumbency can determine the affected side; if not, sialography may be helpful.
Surgery is recommended to remove the damaged salivary gland and duct. Periodic drainage if surgery is not an option is usually only a temporary measure and has the potential for iatrogenic infection. Marsupialization is often ineffective. Gland-duct removal has been recommended for curative treatment of salivary mucoceles.