Lipoma : Characteristic, Appearance, Risk Factor, Diagnosis And Treatment

A lipoma is a growth of fatty tissue that develops under the skin slowly.The lipoma is not cancerous.It is harmless and painless.The lipoma is only painful if it grows into nerves underneath the skin.Its treatment is not necessary unless it bothers you.Many lipomas are relatively small with diameters of about one centimeter until three centimeters.They can enlarge to sizes greater than six centimeters.Some people have more than one lipoma.The lipoma cannot be reduced with self-care.Ice and heat packs are not helpful for lipomas because they are fat-based.

The lipoma can look similar to a liposarcoma, which is malignant or cancerous.The liposarcoma is painful and grows under the skin quickly.The lipoma can occur at any age.It can also be found in younger adults and children.The lipoma is commonly found in adults from forty years old to sixty years old.It can be felt to move slightly under the skin when you press on it.Lipomas are not serious and cause no symptoms.They are classified as a benign tumor of body fat.

The Characteristics of the Lipoma

• Soft to the touch
• Movable
• Painless
• Pale
• Colorless
• Growing slowly
• Appearance under the skin

Lipomas commonly appear on :

• The neck
• The face
• The back 
• The chest
• The shoulders
• The arms
• The tighs
• The stomach

Risk Factors of the Lipoma development

• Adiposis Dolorosa (Dercum Disease)
• Gardner's Syndrome
• Cowden Syndrome
• Madelung disease (Benign symmetric lipomatosis)
• Genetics

Diagnosis

Doctors diagnose a lipoma by doing some procedures.

• Physical Exam is an exam of the body to check general signs of health.
• Biopsy is a procedure that scrapes a small portion of the tissue and sends it to a lab for testing.It is done to rule out the possibility of cancer.
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a procedure that uses a magnet, radio, wave, and computer to make a series of detailed pictures of areas inside the body.
• Computed Tomography (CT) scan is a procedure that makes a series of detailed pictures of areas inside the body, such as the chest, abdomen, and pelvis taken from different angles.

Treatment of The Lipoma

• Surgery is a procedure to remove by cutting out a fatty tissue from the body.If lipomas are removed surgically, they will rarely grow back once.
• Simple Excision is a removal that can be done under local anaesthetic.It takes less than thirty minutes.
• Liposuction is a cosmetic surgery type that removes fat from the human body in an attemp to change its shape.It involves a needle attached to a large syringe. Liposuction reduces its size.It results in less scarring.
• Steroid Injections can shrink the lipoma but it does not remove it completely.