Knowing Lipoma Symptoms and How to Overcome them

Knowing Lipoma Symptoms and How to Overcome them

Lipoma is a fat lump that grows slowly between the skin and the muscle layer. Lipoma can move or shift if pressed with the finger slowly and feels soft. When pressed, lipomas usually do not cause pain. This condition is more often experienced by middle-aged people.

Lipoma does not require serious treatment because it is usually harmless and not cancerous. However, surgical removal of lipoma can be done if the lipoma suffered grows and began to cause pain. Some patients have more than one lipoma.

Symptoms of Lipoma

Lipomas can appear in any part of the body, but generally appear in the back area, thighs, neck, arms, abdomen, or shoulders. Here are some symptoms or signs of the appearance of lipoma:

• Lipomas usually have a diameter of 1-3 cm. Lipomas can grow and become larger, but generally not more than 5 cm in diameter.
• If pressed using a finger, the lipoma will move easily, and feels soft as rubber.
• If the lipoma grows larger and contains more blood vessels or compresses the surrounding nerves, the lipoma will hurt.
• If it persists for several years, the size of the lipoma will not change and its growth is very slow.

Lipomas can grow larger and deeper, but this is rare. If you grow a lump in any area of ​​the body, see your doctor immediately for further tests and treatment.

In addition to lipoma there are also other diseases that cause the growth of a lump filled with fluid (usually pus) under the skin called a cyst. Sometimes it is rather difficult to distinguish lipomas with cysts. Here are some features that can help you differentiate between lipoma and cysts:

• If touched, the lipoma will feel soft, while the cyst will feel hard.
• Lipoma lies deeper under the skin, while the cyst is close to the skin surface.
• Lipoma does not cause inflammation of the skin, while cysts can cause skin swelling and reddish color.

Causes of Lipoma

The exact cause of lipoma is unknown, but there are several factors that can increase a person's risk of developing lipoma, namely:

• Genetics or heredity.
• Age. Although lipomas can affect people at any age, this condition is more common in people aged between 40-60 years, and rarely afflicts children.
• Suffering certain conditions, eg suffering from Cowden's syndrome, Gardner's syndrome, or dolorosa adiposis.

Lipoma Diagnosis

Lipomas can be diagnosed through physical examination and tissue sampling for laboratory investigation (biopsy). To distinguish between lipoma lumps and cyst bumps, your doctor may suggest ultrasound examination.

If the resulting lipoma has an unusual, large-sized, deep-seated form of fatty tissue, a CT scan or MRI scan is likely to be performed to get a clearer picture.

If the lipoma grows quickly, it hurts and does not move under the skin, it is possible that it is liposarcoma or a malignant tumor that grows in fatty tissue. In order to avoid a greater risk, you should immediately contact your doctor for examination.

Handling Lipoma

Lipomas often do not require special treatment. However, there are some handling steps that can be done if the lipomas cause discomfort, pain or disruption, and continue to grow.

You can do liposuction to get rid of fat clots in the lipoma. Another treatment option is to inject steroids to shrink the lipoma. But this way usually can not eliminate lipoma in total.

The last and most widely performed way is through surgical removal of the lipoma. Usually lipomas will not grow back after lifting, but can cause side effects such as bruises and scars.

Well, that's the discussion about lipoma. Hopefully we become aware of the exact handling of lipomas. May be useful.