Lipoma recurrence after multiple removals, what can I do about it now?

Question

I have a non-encased lipoma/fatty mass on the back of my neck (over C7, but diffuse). I'd had it for as long as I could remember; it was surgically excised in January 2016, but it grew back as a more acute, less diffuse mass that seemed to push on my nerves and cause neck pain/headaches. Excised again by the same surgeon -- an awesome, lauded Cornell doc -- in December 2016 and now, in April 2017, it's grown back and is again causing neck pain/headaches. What now? It's painful and ugly!

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD, FACS · Answer

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

Best, 
Dr. Karamanoukian
Realself100 Surgeon

Nelson Castillo, MD · Answer

Thank you for sharing your question and I am sorry to hear of your recurrent lipoma issues.  The mainstay of current treatment is continued excision of the tissue with perhaps wider margins to remove any questionable adipose that could redevelop into a lipoma.  Hope this helps.

Lipoma recurrence after multiple removals, what can I do about it now?

Answers (2)