Diagnosis of Pharyngeal Sialocele in a Dog by CT Scan : A Case Report

Abstract

A 7-year-old, 10 kg male poodle dog was presented at the Small Animal Teaching Hospital, with the clinical signs of chronic coughing, bad deglutition and severe respiratory distress. On oral examination, a large mass arisen from the throat was found. Because the skull-cervical radiographs revealed only a large soft tissue pharyngeal mass which were difficult to indicate the mass types and the tissue invasiveness, the computed tomography (CT) was subsequently applied. The CT result showed that the mass was an encapsulated hypoattenuation mass (2.5 x 4.3 x 2.4 cm) at the right pharyngeal area without any adjacent soft tissue invasions. As the result, the surgical excision was effortlessly done and the histopathological result indicated a pharyngeal mucocele. For the concealed mass especially at the pharyngeal area as seen in this patient, CT was a beneficial and suitable imaging modality for all of the imaging diagnosis, the surgical planning and the prognosis.