Lipoma is a skin problem in which lesions develop in the neck, shoulder and back. They are benign causing no problem to the person. It looks like a mass or lump that constitutes a cluster of fat cells adipocytes. They are seen just below the skin surface lying in subcutaneous tissue.
The lesions of lipoma do not appear suddenly. They grow as a process forming flat lumps that are spongy and soft to touch. They are normally painless and do not cause any problem except cosmetic.
Lipoma develops on the skin shortly after injury and is hereditary. It occurs only on adults who are above 50 years. Though they do not require any treatment, still it can damage your image and hence should be removed.
Symptoms :
It takes time for the lipoma to develop. They look like a small lump or lesion under the skin. You may not even notice its growth since it grows very slowly. Some lumps may increase in size and is normally found in back, neck and shoulder. For some people it may occur on legs and hands and even on other parts of the body.
The lipoma is small resembling the size of marble. It looks like flat round structure that is soft and silky. It can be moved easily if you apply little pressure on the area of the skin. It does not give any pain.
Causes :
Hereditary is the main factor for getting lipoma. But there are people who get lipoma without family history.
Who are at risk?
There are certain factors that increase the risk of getting lipoma lesions. Some of such factors are hereditary, middle age or oldage, having dercum disease ( adiposis dolorosa) and gardner syndrome. For some people, there may be history of multiple lipoma having more number of lesions on the body.
Treatment :
Very often, they do not require any special treatment. Since it is benign, it withers off quickly after few weeks. But if you have cosmetic problem, then you can consider removing lipomas.
Some of the methods of treating lipoma are liposuction, giving steroid injection and surgery. Liposuction is a cosmetic procedure in which the lesions are cut off from the skin. Some prefer to take shots of steroid injections to shrink lipoma which would gradually wither off.
In case of bigger lipomas, surgery is the best choice. Your surgeon makes excision to remove lipoma completely.
Pictures of Lipoma :
Images, Pics, Pictures and Photos of Lipoma
Complications :
Lipoma may become serious if it occurs in internal organs affecting the tissues and nerves. Rarely lipoma might apply pressure on the nerves causing pain. In that case, you need to consult your skin doctor for getting it removed immediately.