In the animal world there are also rare diseases but they are of great importance that they be treated in time. This is the case of the Biliary Mucocele. In this article we will talk a little more about it and how it can affect dogs.

What is biliary mucocele?

Biliary Mucocele is an underdiagnosed pathology in dogs, but it is also increasingly recognized and represents an important cause of biliary obstruction. Its cause is not yet completely clear, but it is a form of acute cholecystitis that is usually found in animals of middle or old age and is usually related to biliary obstruction, necrosis of the bile wall and perforation. Specialists believe that sterile or septic inflammation of the gallbladder, or motor disorders of the gallbladder, could be important factors when suffering from this pathology. As well as that certain dyslipidemias, diabetes and certain dog breeds could be more predisposed to suffer from it. Bile mucocele in dogs leads to a gelatinization of the bile, (excessive formation of mucin), which can endanger the life of the animal.

What are the symptoms of biliary mucocele?

Among all the clinical symptoms that can be found, the most common are:

• Vomiting
• Anorexy.
• Diarrhea.
• Severe abdominal pain
• Jaundice (yellowish color of the mucosa).

Analytically it is usually accompanied by samples of liver enzyme alterations, which inform us that the functionality of the liver is affected. Biliary mucocele is often a secondary problem within other liver or endocrine pathologies (the most frequent is Cushing’s syndrome, associated with an excess production of cortisol), but sometimes it is the main health problem. This is the case of many dogs of the Schnauzer breed, which have a certain genetic predisposition to suffer from this disease.

Diagnosis and Treatment Options for Biliary Mucocele in Dogs

Treatments for gallbladder mucocele depend on each patient. The analysis and confirmation of the diagnosis is carried out by ultrasound. From there, the professional who treats you can perform an interpretation of the images to confirm the dog’s diagnosis. On ultrasound images, a half-kiwi-like shape can usually be recognized within the gallbladder. This will indicate that the patient suffers from canine biliary mucocele.

Treatment can vary: sometimes just medication is enough to treat the condition, but in more advanced or severe cases, surgery will be the only alternative.

In the latter case, the surgical intervention will try to remove the same gallbladder. It is not a very serious or long surgery but it is of some complexity. Of course, if it is successful it will guarantee the complete recovery of your pet.

The postoperative period of this surgical intervention is usually very bearable, although it is likely that you should go to your dog for consultation during the first days after the operation to continue evaluating its condition and monitoring the results of the tests.