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Good luck to Willow and hopefully it is just a one-time problem for her.
To answer Gingergoose's question, two of our three have had their anal glands removed and in both cases the surgery went really well and there have been no long-term complications. The main risk with the surgery is fecal incontinence - and let me tell you that concept certainly made me very reluctant to proceed at first! But eventually we decided we had to do it for Moosie, who had infection after infection there, and then a couple of years later for Booker, whose glands were getting more and more difficult and painful to express.
I understand that the risk of permanent problems is very low and is usually the result of either an inexperienced surgeon or anal glands that have been infected, scarred or otherwise damaged to make them more difficult to remove - another thing to consider when deciding whether it is better to wait and see or just have them removed. Many dogs do have a problem with "suprise poops" for a couple of weeks after surgery, though - Booker did for about a week but mostly when barking or when she was just about ready to poop - one little poop would just pop out and she seemed as surprised by it as we were (needless to say she wasn't allowed on the pillows for a few days...)! Moosie had no problems whatsover.
