Can Lipomas Come Back After Lipoma Removal Surgery?

Lipomas are benign fatty tumors that occur under the skin and less commonly within the muscle. They are associated with mild discomfort and a lump underneath the skin. It is always best to talk to an expert plastic surgeon to determine whether the lipoma is possibly a cyst or a tumor or hernia. We would have to remove the lipoma to be sure that it is not something else and we usually do this by sending it to a pathologist for evaluation. If a lipoma is painful, then an exam is needed to make sure it is not compressing on a nerve or whether the diagnosis is different. Aftercare for a lipoma includes gentle compression and Plato’s Scar Serum twice daily on the wound.

Best,
Dr. Karamanoukian
Realself100 Surgeon

Lipomas rarely recur if they are removed completely. However some people are prone to getting lipomas so you may get one somewhere else

Lipomas can recur after lipoma removal surgery, although this is uncommon. Lipoma recurrence is thought to occur because the lipoma is incompletely removed at the first surgery. This is more likely to happen if the surgery is performed through liposuction, as it is difficult to ensure that the entire mass is removed with this type of surgery. Lipoma recurrence does not mean that the original surgeon did the first operation incorrectly.

After lipoma removal, most lipomas will not come back. If the lipoma was removed by excision then the chances of it coming back are very small. Some surgeons prefer to remove lipomas using liposuction and these are lipomas have a higher incidence of recurrence.