If you’ve noticed a rubbery lump beneath your skin, you may be dealing with a lipoma. If so, should you be concerned?
While this condition isn’t dangerous, you still may benefit from treatment, depending on your symptoms. Ali Hendi, MD, and his dedicated team of professionals in Chevy Chase, Maryland, are pleased to diagnose and remove lipomas using advanced technology and scar-minimizing techniques.
In this blog, Dr. Hendi delves into lipomas, including common signs and reasons to seek care.
About 1 in every 1,000 people has a lipoma. Lipomas are slow-growing masses of fatty tissue, and they aren’t cancerous or harmful to your health. And, while the rubbery lumps can appear at any age, they usually appear between ages 40-60.
Lipomas can appear in many areas of the skin, but they’re usually found in the following places:
And while lipomas aren’t harmful to a person’s health, they can cause pain or discomfort if they form in a sensitive area. Furthermore, you may also wish to have a lipoma removed if it’s quite large and visible.
Although the exact cause isn't known, lipomas tend to run in families. So, if one of your relatives has a lipoma, you may get one, too. Having multiple lipomas, while less common, may stem from an underlying condition, such as Dercum’s disease, Gardner syndrome, or Madelung’s disease.
During lipoma removal, Dr. Hendi usually makes an incision in the growth to surgically remove it. This procedure works a lot like liposuction, which uses a suctioning device to remove excess fat. In fact, liposuction is sometimes recommended for lipoma removal.
In either case, lipoma removal tends to be a minimally invasive procedure that’s performed on an outpatient basis. That means you won’t have to worry about a hospital stay or long downtime for recovery.
While lipomas aren’t risky from a health standpoint, they can be mistaken for other conditions. Any sudden change in your skin is worth seeking a professional assessment to rule out more serious problems. The rare form of cancer known as liposarcoma, for example, may seem like a harmless lump at the start.
You also shouldn’t attempt to remove a lipoma yourself, or you could run the risk of infection, injury, and scarring.
To learn more about lipomas or to get started with the diagnosis or care you need, call 301-812-4591 or book an appointment online with the practice of Ali Hendi, MD, today.
