Definition
from article:
Obstructive Sialolithiasis in buffalo and its management
V.B. Joshi, S.P. Tyagi and Avinash Sharma
Sub-divisional Veterinary Hospital Una- 174 303, Department of Animal Husbandry, Himachal Pradesh, INDIA
Sialolith cyst
The occurrence of
sialoliths or salivary calculi has been
reported in different kinds of animals such
as dog (Bartels, 1978), cattle (Ali et al,
1978), monkey (Ensley et al, 1981), donkey (Misk
et al, 1984), horse (Bouayad et al, 1991)
camel (Barvalia et al, 1992), chimpanzee (Orkin
et al, 1990) etc. These are seen more often
in horses than in other species (Hofmeyr,
1988). Sialoliths form in a duct or in the
salivary gland itself, generally as a result
of chronic inflammation, which provides
desquamated cells or consolidated exudates as
a minute nidus upon which calcium salts
precipitate (Orkin et al, 1990). Small
foreign bodies entering the ostium of
salivary duct may also initiate the
precipitation of salts (Hofmeyr 1988; Baskett
et al, 1995). The cross sectioning of the
sialoliths in the present case revealed the
presence of hay straw in the centre (Fig. 4).
This suggests that the hay straw might have
accidentally entered the salivary duct
probably during rumination and acted as nidus
for the deposition of salivary salts.
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You might ask why I used a definition from an article on a buffalo. This was one of the only articles I could find.
There is nothing in the Merck Veterinary Manual about sialolith cysts at all.
I did find the information below on the International Veterinary Information Service web-site.
Sialoliths are hard, nonpainful, moveable swellings that can obstruct the parotid duct usually in older horses. They occur on the lateral aspect of the face near the rostral end of the facial crest. They can usually be palpated orally. They are composed of calcium carbonate and organic matter. Removal by an external approach may lead to a salivary fistula. Consequently, it is recommended to remove them by an oral approach. The incision is made is through the buccal mucosa directly over the sialolith. The incision is left to heal by second intention.
I assume the lack of information available is because this is an uncommon disease.
Belle came to stay with us because of a bad infestation of habronema larvae that had caused horrible sores below her eyes, & behind one knee. I noticed when her family brought her to us, that she had a lump on her jaw. I asked the woman about it. She said her vet had checked it & didn’t know what it was.
We got the habronema
under control & were getting ready to
look for her a permanent home.
One morning we noticed she was rubbing
the lump on the hay bunk, like it was
bothering her.
It was a holiday, & I couldn’t
find a vet to come out.
I called an equine dentist I know,
& he said he’d come out & see if it
was teeth related.
He checked her teeth & said they
needed floating, but the lump didn’t seem
to have anything to do with her teeth.
As he was feeling the lump both inside
& outside her mouth, it fell out on the
ground. 
All 3 of us just stood there & looked at
it, & tried to figure out what it was.
I thought maybe she had gotten a rock
caught & it had worn smooth.
Didn’t make sense, but it had to be
something.
There was no bleeding at all.
He did her teeth, & we were glad
it was gone.
A few days later I noticed there was another lump in the same area. We made arrangements to haul her to a vet clinic in Tucson for evaluation. They could not tell us what it was, but were very interested in our story of the “rock” that fell out of her mouth. They communicated with vets all over the U.S. & finally found one that had treated a sialolith cyst & told them to remove it they would have to go from inside the mouth. We made arrangements & left her for surgery. We got a call telling us there was good news & bad news. The good news was they had found it & had their hands on it. The bad news was, after over 2 hours & 3 vets they were unable to remove it. There are a lot of nerves in that area & they were afraid to be any more aggressive in their surgery, that might leave her with permanent nerve damage.
Once she was healed, I
called Arizona Equine Centre in Gilbert,
Arizona & made arrangements to haul her
up there for evaluation.
Dr. Taylor is a board certified
surgeon, & said in 18 years he’s seen 2
others. I
asked if he thought he could get it out &
he said yes.
It took him about 45 minutes, & a
lot of cutting in an area with not a lot of
working room.
Belle, bless her heart stood still
throughout the whole process.
Of course she was numb, but standing
that long with 2 hands & arms in your
mouth, & quite an audience of vets
watching, probably wasn’t much fun.
Since the first one basically just fell out, I wonder if this is what usually happens to them. Obviously vets don’t see many of them. Belle had 2, do they usually have just one or more than one? How long does it take for them to develop? She was about 10 years old at the time, does it take months or years to develop? The IVIS description said they are nonpainful, yet Belle was rubbing it for some reason. Did her rubbing encourage it to move enough so that it fell out?
One of the other donkeys has a smaller lump on his jaw. He’s not been here long & I checked it occasionally. So far it has not changed in size or shape.
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