Lipoma Removal: Q&A
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Should I Be Concerned with Lipoma That Has Dry Texture?
Have an 8 cm lipoma near my upper right shoulder. Have noticed a lot of tightness in my muscles near the area and the skin over the lipoma has a different texture (kind of dry) than the surrounding area. Haven't seen a surgeon for removal. Should I be concerned?
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10 Doctor Answers |
Asked by
KDA
in Chesapeake, VA
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The texture of the lipoma
The texture of a lipoma is dependent on the quality of your skin as well as the size of the underlying lipoma. If the lipoma is large, it may stretch your skin and thus change the texture. Your best bet is to be evaluated by a board-certified plastic surgeon who will be able to determine if the lipoma is so large that it is affecting your function or appearance. They may recommend removal of the lipoma and will discuss with you the scarring and appearance afterwards.
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Get Rid of It
I, along with most physicians, are of the school of thought that growing soft tissue masses should be excised. Telling you to leave it alone is akin to not advising a patient to not stop smoking. By waiting until this mass became 8 cms. you have already turned a ten minute, in office procedure into an outpatient process. Why wait longer? The earlier you go in the smaller the scar and the simpler the procedure. Are there any advantages to temporizing. I think not.
The textural changes on...
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Have any lump or lesion examined
Always err on the side of caution when dealing with a lump or lesion under the skin. Never assume that a lump is a lipoma without having an experienced surgeon examine the lesion and obtaining appropriate diagnostic studies.
Symptoms that should increase suspicion in a lump or bump under the skin:
Fast growth
Overlying skin changes
Nerve injury such as numbness or hypersensitivity, pain.
Multiple new lesions
History of cancer
This is not an exhaustive list but serves as a reference point...
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Skin change is unusual over the lipoma
I would strongly encourage you to see a specialist to determine that the skin growth you describe is a lipoma indeed. The experienced plastic surgeon should have no problem to recognize such, but often the pathology exam can give as the final diagnosis. It is recommended to remove lipomas, these types of fatty growths tend to get larger with time. The smaller the lipoma is, the smaller incision for the excision and the smaller scar afterwards. However, the skin change over the lipoma is...
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Lipoma Larger than 5 cm should be excised
The surgical literature states that lipomas larger than 5 cm can undergo malignant degeneration into liposarcoma - that is, the likelihood of developing liposarcoma or harboring liposarcoma is higher when the size exceeds 5 cm. So, it is recommended that you have it excised. if you are concerned about the cosmetic appearance, have a plastic/reconstructive surgeon available to plan the operation with the general surgeon or surgical oncologist who will remove it.
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Lipoma
Although most mobile fatty like tumors under the skin are lipomas, until they are removed and the pathologist looks at the tissue, a final diagnosis can not be determined.
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Lipoma may be painful, consider removal
These are called "epaulette lipomas" because and epaulette is the shoulder decoration that a soldier or military officer wears.
The vast majority of these are benign but are removed for cosmetic reasons and to prevent further growth. Rarely, these may be malignant. The biopsy will be sent to evaluate this remote possibility.
In your instance, pain is not unuusal and can be a sign of stretching of the overlying nerves or pressure on the muscle.
The skin reaction does sound unusual...
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Lipoma, unknown mass on shoulder
Lipoma is a diagnosis confirmed by pathology. It is a very common benign tumor. Soft tissue masses can be other things. It is difficult to know for sure about the true nature of the lesion without a biopsy (usually excisional as opposed to incisional or needle (meaning that the goal would be to take the entire lesion out and submit it to pathology).
You should see a surgeon and have this lesion evaluated.
I hope this helps.
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Dry skin over Lipoma not unusual
KDA
It would not be unusual to have slightly dry skin over the lipoma. I would recommend having the lipoma removed and examined by a pathologist to confirm that it is indeed a lipoma.
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Lipoma removal is a good idea
In general, the diagnosis of a lipoma is a clinical one supported by pathological confirmation once removed. Unless you had it biposied, there is no way to know that this is a lipoma.
Removal is always a good idea, the main issue is usualy the continued growth. Best of luck.
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