Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I finally took my dog yesterday to have her salivary gland checked again, after noticing the lumps that have formed. He wants me to bring her back tomorrow so he can xray her, run blood work, and try draining it again. At first he talked like he was going to open it up and look, but I was against that. I don't see the need to open her up until he knows SOMETHING. Wouldn't the blood work and the xray be able to tell if it were serious or not, as far as tumors? He said he's going to have to sedate her as well and wants to clean her ears out while she's sedated. I'm a little worried about the sedation and don't really know if I should let him clean her ears out. My groomer cleans them out when I take her monthly.

If you are uncomfortable with something, don't do it. An x-ray of the head seldom yields much information. I suspect that you would get more information from draining the salivary gland and sending the fluid to a pathology lab to look for concretions, bacteria or tumor cells.

I'm glad you told me that because I really didn't want to have to put her under sedation at all. I've been worrying about it every since he told me. I know that he can draw fluid out without doing that because he's done it before. If he can't run the proper tests to find out, I'll just take her somewhere else. I've postponed the appointment for tomorrow. I'm just going to reschedule and tell him that I only want him to draw fluid for tests. You've been so helpful to me and I thank you for answering all of my questions when something comes up. My little dog has quite a few health problems, so it seems something is always coming up.