# Bilateral 'Cheek' Lumps/Cysts?



## unloader

Does your dog have these marble sized lumps? *They are located* below each eye right above their teeth and under the skin. Check out the photos.

They are movable, similar to a lipoma. Remy now has one larger than the other, they used to be the same size. The vet doesn't know what they are besides a congenital cyst near the salivary gland. 


















I feel like I have seen other dogs with this, but I can't find an anatomical explanation.


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## hunterisgreat

How old? We had a lump in the cheek but it ended up being an infected whisker and went away when I pulled the whisker stump out


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## unloader

He has had these since I got him at 10 weeks. He is now 11 months. Just this past weekend I noticed one was larger than the other. There isn't a whisker or any hint of one. 
I believe weimaraners commonly have these.


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## hunterisgreat

unloader said:


> He has had these since I got him at 10 weeks. He is now 11 months. Just this past weekend I noticed one was larger than the other. There isn't a whisker or any hint of one.
> I believe weimaraners commonly have these.


Its not in the right place anyway. If its any comfort, I've always had a cyst like thing on my jaw line that moves around. Dr isn't concerned, and its not visible so I leave it alone. Its probably the size of a pea and you gotta really feel for it to find it.


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## AvaLaRue

I just got a new foster dog and was doing a search for these lumps and found this post. Any new information on this as to what they are and why? I am making a vet appointment this week for him.


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## unloader

I just took him in for his yearly checkup. The vet said that since they are bilateral and the fact that they haven't changed in shape or size in over six months, they are probably harmless. He said that when I decide to neuter him, he could put a needle in it to examine the fluid, but he isn't overly concerned at this point.


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## Fenris puppy

My Belgian Tervuren puppy has this too. He just turned 10 months. I noticed them at 7 weeks when I got him. No one knows what they are. They are the same size bilaterally. He also has dry skin, brittle fur, loss of hair but not mange, and a poor appetite. He is really tall and lanky, but still intact.


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## Fenris puppy

Fenris puppy said:


> My Belgian Tervuren puppy has this too. He just turned 10 months. I noticed them at 7 weeks when I got him. No one knows what they are. They are the same size bilaterally. He also has dry skin, brittle fur, loss of hair but not mange, and a poor appetite. He is really tall and lanky, but still intact.


I took Fenris to the Veterinarian and she has never seen these before. She aspirated one of them and sent the contents for cytology, she also did a CBC differential. The results came back normal but with signs of allergic reaction. While further researching this topic I found that these are facial lymph nodes that only occur is about 8.8% of all dog regardless of breed. They are called buccal lymph nodes, or lymphonodus buccalis. Only 4.4% of all dogs have these bilaterally, like Fenris. It is suggested to have them aspirated for cytology and to also do a CBC to rule out infection or cancer if they become inflamed. Apparently, these lymph nodes collect the run off of the sinus cavities, salivary glands and other facial and cranial areas and are great indicators for infection, cancer, or allergy. I am giving Fenris Benedryl until the allergy season here in southern California goes away. I am allergic to the pollen too from about November to February or March. 

Notice how I did not blame the food, which is trendy and most of the time not founded through any scientific processes; rather by the time the owner thinks they found the problem the dry weather and allergy season (or flea season) have already passed. Most dogs do not have the claimed food allergies but instead their owners have the I think my dog has it because they heard someones dog had it somewhere sometime.


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## Gage's people

The post on Fenris in this thread kept me somewhat sane as we anxiously awaited the results of our 1.5 year old German Shepherd's oncology report for a sudden large lump on his right cheek. Our vet had never seen anything like it and was extremely worried it could be cancerous, especially since Gage's energy levels and appetite haven't been so great recently. While we were waiting for the results, we discovered a smaller lump in the exact same place on the other opposite side, which led me to this thread and gave me hope that the vet's initial fears could be all wrong. Good news is the vet finally called today and said the oncologist has confirmed it's all normal lymph tissue in there. The vet even had to refer back then his anatomy books to find a lymph node in that location! It's pretty rare and he'd never seen a case of inflamed buccal nodes before. Most likely a nasty sinus infection caused by bad summer/fall allergy season. So a quick round of antibiotics and Benadryl should hopefully clear it up.


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## Stcarlsonmft

*Weimaraner Swollen Glands/Allergies*

Hi,
My 9 year old Weim has had bilateral swollen glands on his face for several years now, they seem to have been triggered by a wasp bite in his mouth and have never been the same since. He has skin allergies, reverse-sneezing and some goop in his eyes every once in a while. These appear to be seasonal allergies that were once managed by Benadryl but now we give him a daily dose of Temaril-P. This seems to manage the swelling around the gland, but now we are going to have an X-Ray of his jaw/orbital and possibly have some fluid removed from the gland to test the cells on Monday. This gland is hard and does not move around, so I know it's not a sebaceous tumor as our previous Weim often had. 

We are hopeful that this is a reaction to his seasonal allergies, i.e. drainage and build-up and not something more serious like a bone cyst or tumor. His appetite, mood, energy level are all the same. If anyone has any more information on the outcomes of the previous posts that would be awesome. Thanks!


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## akhiker01

Glad i found this thread and its very interesting. My 8 month old Malinois also has the same two small smooth round like movable nodules (like small marbles) same location on each side of face near upper jaw below eye. He has had some sneezing and mild cold. Eating and drinking normally, acting normal but i am giving him extra kennel rest and bendryl morning and evening for few days. Alaska has had some high winds and cooler weather. I am just going to keep a close eye on him for couple days. Thanks for posting everyone it helps me not freak out!=


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## San

My Malinois has them, too. She was around 5 months old, her molars were coming out. We came home from work and she had these round bumps on her cheeks. I freaked out and took her to the ER vet, thought she got bitten by something or was having some kind of allergic reaction. The ER vet didn't know what they were. Said her vitals were good and to just give her some Benadryl. 

Took her to a dermatologist 3 days later (also saw this thread in between, LOL). The dermatologist confirmed they were buccal lymph nodes. She said they probably swelled up due to the stress of teething. The bumps went down a lot once she finished teething. They never fully went away though. She is now 3.5 years old, the one on her left cheek is barely visible, the one on the right cheek is probably 80% smaller than it used to be. 

Here is a photo of her when they first popped up....


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## SilkLarkin

Hello to all; Here's my background in this issue so you can offer suggestions or follow along with my current progress. I'm a Ridgeback person and joined this Group in order to discuss "bilateral cheek bumps". My girl "Fin" (Infinity) is going on 21mths, into her 2nd season and her maternal Grandmother (who spent her retirement years with me) "Babe" suffered through 2 open pyos before she passed. Fin has a hooded vulva and because of my hyper concern concerning potential pyos for Fin, when I recently noticed her cheek bumps (which she's had from 10wk pickup) enlarged to a very noticable size of a full, large green grape and they appeared to be sensitive to touch and unmovable, I was ready to take her back to the vet who has told me twice now that the cheek bumps are of no concern, etc. (He's a HIGHLY respected and knowlegable vet among Ridgeback folk where I live; I do honestly trust him; and this was not the first vet opinion of the same result either). My concerns for Fin that these cheek bumps might be responding to harmonal changes or possibly some infection building via her being in season. We live in AZ and there are no noticable blooming of allergens to my knowledge.


Afater reading the above posts, attempting to message Fin's cheek bumps, etc, etc. I made a decision to put her on 500mg of Amoxi 1x daily. If she did have 'something brewing' from the harmones, it wouldn't hurt to be advance pro-active. Also, if there was some sort of infection or irritation causing the cheek bumps, the Amoxi would have an effect on them within 3 days at least. Mind you, PLEASE, I'm no vet, have no medical background, etc, etc. but HAVE brought Babe through recovery of those 2 pyos during her elder years... and have had Ridgebacks for many years and never had to deal with cheek bumps before. So, I made my best decision when I couldn't get into the Vet's office for another week (other than for ER).


Today ~ after 4 days of the Amoxi dose mentioned above ~ Fin's cheek bumps are down to VERY slight oval underskin bumps on her cheeks. I intend to complete a 10-day course of the antibiotics and will report back then as to the final outcome.


TALK TO YOUR OWN VET! My decision for my dog may not be what's right for you or your dog. But, after all this concern for the past almost 20mths about these cheek bumps ~ I feel like maybe... MAYBE... Fin might have had some sort of unknown infection to begin with and the harmones from her season set them off big time. I KNOW my breeder would NOT have let her leave her kennel had there been any suspicion at all of an infection; have known her since 60/70s and never had any Ridgebacks other than from her. Know, trust and highly respect her. So, that's MY experience with cheek bumps... to date.


Silk Larkin (via FB)


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## SilkLarkin

*Bilateral 'Cheek' Lumps*



Fenris puppy said:


> "I took Fenris to the Veterinarian and she has never seen these before. She aspirated one of them and sent the contents for cytology, she also did a CBC differential. The results came back normal but with signs of allergic reaction. While further researching this topic I found that these are facial lymph nodes that only occur is about 8.8% of all dog regardless of breed. They are called buccal lymph nodes, or lymphonodus buccalis. Only 4.4% of all dogs have these bilaterally, like Fenris. It is suggested to have them aspirated for cytology and to also do a CBC to rule out infection or cancer if they become inflamed. Apparently, these lymph nodes collect the run off of the sinus cavities, salivary glands and other facial and cranial areas and are great indicators for infection, cancer, or allergy. I am giving Fenris Benedryl until the allergy season here in southern California goes away. I am allergic to the pollen too from about November to February or March."
> 
> 
> THANK YOU so much for your researching this topic ~ and for the actual names of these nodes. I googled and found some interesting research & vet links, took some pics of my dog and am sending all to my Vet in prep for our next upcoming visit. (Interesting that #1 is a rather 'rare' node & #2 its often referred to by vet's as "the forgotten node".)


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## kyamonet

Gage's people said:


> The post on Fenris in this thread kept me somewhat sane as we anxiously awaited the results of our 1.5 year old German Shepherd's oncology report for a sudden large lump on his right cheek. Our vet had never seen anything like it and was extremely worried it could be cancerous, especially since Gage's energy levels and appetite haven't been so great recently. While we were waiting for the results, we discovered a smaller lump in the exact same place on the other opposite side, which led me to this thread and gave me hope that the vet's initial fears could be all wrong. Good news is the vet finally called today and said the oncologist has confirmed it's all normal lymph tissue in there. The vet even had to refer back then his anatomy books to find a lymph node in that location! It's pretty rare and he'd never seen a case of inflamed buccal nodes before. Most likely a nasty sinus infection caused by bad summer/fall allergy season. So a quick round of antibiotics and Benadryl should hopefully clear it up.


 Hello, my Doberman pinscher has one inflamed on his left side of face and his nose is running. You can tell he is stuffed up. Do I just give him a whole pill of human benedryl and put it in a treat?


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## Pawsed

Take him to the vet. If he has a sinus infection, which is very possible, he may need antibiotics. Benedryl won't help that.


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