Lipoma Causes

Lipomas are benign, non cancerous tumors occurring in the body. They are found between your skin and layer of muscles. Lipoma can occur in both men and women at any age, but lipomas are most common in middle ages. The causes of lipoma vary from patient to patient. The best way to notice a lipoma is to notice a fatty soft lump growing under the skin in any part of your body.

Identifying a lipoma is very important. People hardly notice it when it is in its growing stages. Lipoma is generally oval shaped and may grow from 2 to 10 cm in diameter. There are simple ways to identify lipoma like, it easily moves under finger pressure, they are not soft but it is weird to touch them. Its causes and treatment often depend upon the type of lipoma you encounter. So let's have a look at some different types of lipoma.

Types of Lipoma

Angiolipoma or Underlying Lipoma: It is a typical form of lipoma, an underlying condition which causes a lot of pain.

Hibernoma: It is a lump or a tumor of fat tissue.

Angiolipoleiomyoma: This type of lipoma is unfrequented and grows where there are connective tissues, along with blood vessels and fat.

Intradermal Spindle Cell Lipoma: Very common in women, mainly grows on back, neck and shoulders.

Pleomorphic Lipoma or Fatty Lipoma: These types are only found in old people. Fatty lipoma increases pain in the joints.

Neural Fibrolipoma: This lipoma exerts pressure on nerves.

Chondroid Lipoma: Common in women, grows on legs and are yellow in color.

Spindle Cell Lipoma: It is common in men and normally grows on neck, back and shoulders.

Causes of Lipoma

Lipoma can occur due to genetic as well as for various other reasons. A person may also have a medical history of tumors in his/her family. Even minor injuries like a bruise or a burn can cause a lipoma, so it is necessary to treat an injury. There is still not a definite answer as to what are the causes of lipoma.

Lipoma Treatments

The treatment of lipoma is rare because it is non-cancerous and grows only up to 10 cm. Doctors may operate it when the pain becomes unbearable or if it restricts day-to-day movements. Surgeries can also be performed when lipoma increases in size or it has occurred at a place where it can be seen and the lipoma has become an unattractive lump. Your surgeon can treat this harmless tumor in his surgical center. You would be given anesthesia, and the doctor will make a small incision to take that tumor out, and stitch it back. Hospitalization is required when the tumor is big in size and the incision has caused a substantial amount of blood loss. Another method used for the treatment of lipoma are steroid injections. With steroid injections the lipoma does not vanish completely, but it does shrink the fatty tumor. This treatment is basically opted for people who are suffering from small-sized tumors, those that are smaller than 2 cm.

So that's all the information I had on lipoma causes and its treatment and characteristics. Whenever you see a lump under your skin and if it has been there for a long time, do get it checked immediately from a doctor to avoid further complications.