Lipoma Treatment

If you have recently noticed a fatty lump slowly growing under the skin in any part of your body, then you have probably been affected by a lipoma, which is a benign type of a tumor. They can affect people of any age. They are the most common forms of soft tissue tumors. Only in very rare cases, can a lipoma turn out to be malignant form of a tumor. This article discusses lipoma treatment methods that work effectively.

What is Lipoma?
Lipoma grows in the form of a capsule of thin, fibrous type which grows under the skin and is made up of fat tissue primarily. Out of all the known non-cancerous soft tissue growths, lipomas are the most common. Most people get lipomas on the upper arms, the neck, torso, upper thighs and armpits. They can occur in any part of the body. It is a fatty tumor that grows between the skin tissue and the muscle tissues below.

How do You Identify a Lipoma?
Before we go into lipoma treatment, let us see what are the symptoms of lipoma and how do you identify it. People hardly notice a growing lipoma until it has grown substantially. They are generally dome shaped and may grow from 2 cm-10 cm in diameter. You can identify a lipoma through certain characteristics like they easily move under applied finger pressure. They are not tender but feel kind of doughy to touch. Lipomas can turn out to be painful if they are pressing on the blood vessels and nerves located in vicinity. The final confirmation or accurate identification can only be given by a doctor who will run diagnostic tests.

All cases of lipomas encountered, are subcutaneous in form. That is, they mostly occur under the skin tissue. Most cases of lipoma growth tend to occur in adulthood, but they become more noticeable in middle age. Men are more likely to be affected by multiple lipomas, while women are more likely to get solitary lipomas.

Types of Lipoma
Lipoma treatment is dependent on the type of lypoma that you encounter. There are various types of lipoma which differ in characteristics and location. Here are the various lipoma types:

• Angiolipoma: This type of lipoma causes a lot of pain and has all the typical characteristics of a lipoma mentioned above.
• Angiolipoleiomyoma: This form of Lipoma is solitary and involves connective tissue, along with blood vessels and fat.
• Neural fibrolipoma : This is a kind of lipoma which pressurizes nerves
• Chondroid lipoma: These types of lipomas grow on legs of women and are yellowish and deep seated
• Spindle-cell lipoma: This type of lipoma is mostly prevalent in men and grows on back, neck and shoulders.
• Pleomorphic lipoma: These are types of spindle cell lipomas, that mostly affect old men and can be identified by floret giant cells.
• Intradermal spindle cell lipoma: This type of lipoma affects women mostly and grows on the head, neck and trunk.
• Hibernoma: This is a tumor of fat tissue or adipose tissue.

Lipoma Causes
The occurrence of lipomas, like many tumors, are unknown and research is still underway to determine the exact causes. However, it has been observed that people may be genetically predisposed to get lipomas. It often runs in families. Being overweight or obese is not a cause of lipoma. It has also been observed that minor injuries can also cause a lipoma.

Lipoma Treatment Methods
Being benign, lipomas generally do not cause any trouble and they eventually stop growing. They are harmless and small in size at times. In that case, the treatment is, to do exactly nothing! However if they are painful, they can be removed surgically. There are three ways of lipoma treatment or surgical removal. They are:

• Liposuction: Liposuction is excess fat tissue removal through suction.
• Surgical Excision: It is the removal of the lipoma with a scalpel.
• Squeezing out of fatty tissue: The fatty tissue is removed through a puncture made in the lipoma.

All the above lipoma treatment procedures are easily possible with today's advanced medical surgery units. See to I that you do not ignore the development of a lipoma and get it checked with a doctor as early as possible, to be on the safer side.