- Lipomas are harmless, fatty tumors that can develop under the skin. While they are not cancerous, they can be unsightly and uncomfortable. If you have a lipoma that you would like to have removed, you may be wondering if a dermatologist can help.
- The short answer is yes, dermatologists can remove lipomas. However, you should know a few things before scheduling an appointment.
What Is Lipoma?
- Lipoma is the most prevalent mesenchymal tumor, accounting for over half of all soft tissue tumors. It is painless, slow-growing, well-circumscribed, and encapsulated.
- Patients in their fifth to seventh decades are, the most affected. It could be superficially or deeply situated, and it could be intermuscular or intramuscular.
- Lipomas must be recognized from liposarcomas, which can resemble lipomas.
Lipoma Treatment
- There are a few different options for treatment, depending on the size and location of the lipoma.
1. Nonexcisional Techniques
- Steroid injections and liposuction are now commonly used in the non-surgical treatment of lipomas.
Steroid Injection in Lipoma
- Steroid injections cause local fat atrophy, which shrinks (or, in rare cases, eliminates) the lipoma.
- Lipomas less than 1 inch in diameter are best treated with injections. The steroid is injected into the lesion's center. This process may be repeated multiple times each month.
- The amount of steroid used depends on the size of the lipoma, but it is usually 1 to 3 ml.
- The number of injections is determined by the result, which is predicted in three to four weeks.
Liposuction of Lipoma
- Liposuction can be performed to remove tiny or big lipomatous growths, especially in areas where significant scars are unwanted.
- Liposuction can't altogether remove the tumor.
- Office liposuction may be less dangerous than large-cannula liposuction.
- For office liposuction, diluted lidocaine usually provides enough anesthetic.
2. Excisional Techniques
- Lipomas are often treated surgically. It is generally helpful to draw an outline of the lipoma and a planned skin excision on the skin surface before surgery. The contour of the tumor frequently helps in delineating margins, which can get obscured after anesthetic delivery.
- Excision of some skin helps in the elimination of skin excess during closure.
Enucleation
- Enucleation can be used to eliminate small lipomas. Over the lipoma, a 3-mm incision is made. Inside the wound, a curette is utilized to separate the lipoma from the surrounding tissue.
- Once liberated, the tumor is enucleated with a curette through the incision. Sutures are rarely used, and a pressure dressing is used to prevent hematoma formation.
Excision
- Larger lipomas are usually treated by incisions in the skin above the lipoma.
- The incisions are smaller than the underlying tumor and are designed as a fusiform excision following the skin tension lines.
We hope this article was helpful in answering your question.
If you have any other questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out
to us.
Sources
- Anders KH, Ackerman AB. Neoplasms of the subcutaneous fat. In: Freedberg IM, Eisen AZ, Wolff K, Austen KF, Goldsmith LA, Katz SI, et al., eds. Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in general medicine. 5th ed. New York:
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