Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsCausesDiagnosisTreatment
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Causes
Diagnosis
Treatment
There’s still a lot we don’t know about why lipomas form, but there are certain things that increase the chances of one developing, including having a family history of lipomas, living with obesity, or having certain medical conditions. In most cases, no treatment is recommended. But they can be removed or diminished for cosmetic reasons or in cases where the lipomas are large, painful, or located in areas where they could negatively affect health or mobility.
Laura Porter / Verywell
Lipomas are lumps that form under the skin. They’re soft, doughy, and mobile—you can easily push them around with a finger. They don’t usually hurt or affect your mobility unless they form in or around joints, blood vessels, or nerves.
Most people (90-95%) with lipomas will only have one, but some can develop multiple.The masses are generally small, 2-3 centimeters wide, though “giant lipomas” can grow bigger than 10 centimeters.
The lumps typically occur in the upper part of the body where there is a lot of fatty tissue, such as on the head and neck, shoulders, chest,and back. In rare cases, the lumps can grow on muscles or internal organs, like the stomach or intestines.
We still don’t know why exactly lipomas form, but there are some things that can make them more likely, such as genetics, injuries, or certain medical conditions.
Genetics
Genetics appears to play a fairly substantial role in a person’s risks of getting lipomas. In about two-thirds of cases, there are mutations, rearrangements, or deletions of genes or chromosomes, and some of the conditions associated with lipomas are genetic.
Medical Conditions
Certain medical conditions or events can also be associated with (or increase the chances of) lipomas. These include:
Other Risk Factors
In addition to medical conditions and genetics, other risk factors can also increase a person’s chances of lipomas, including age and sex. Lipomas are most likely to appear between the ages of 40 and 60, and they’re slightly more common in men than women.
Healthcare providers typically diagnose lipomas during a simple physical exam. They’ll likely ask you about your medical history, including whether you have any close family members with a history of lipomas, and then take a look at the growth and feel how firm it is. That, alone, is usually enough for a practitioner to make their diagnosis.
Lipomas are benign (harmless) tumors, but they’re still tumors, and in some cases, medical professionals might want to perform additional tests to rule out cancer. These tests could include:
These tests are typically performed if the lipomas grow quickly, are painful or attached to underlying tissue, occur in a particularly dangerous location like in deep tissues, or they’re excessively big (ex. larger than 10 centimeters).
There’s no cure for lipomas, but there are treatments available to make them smaller or remove them entirely.
Because lipomas are generally painless and harmless, they often don’t require treatment unless the individual wants them removed for cosmetic reasons. For routine cases, healthcare providers might just want to keep an eye on the growths to make sure they don’t continue to grow too large or otherwise become problematic.
However, a practitioner might recommend treatment if the lipomas are at risk of hurting your health or quality of life. Some red flags that might lead a healthcare provider to recommend treatment for lipomas include if they are:
In instances where a healthcare provider and individual with lipomas want to move forward with treatment, there are some options available, including surgery, injections, and liposuction.
Surgical Excision
This technique is generally only done while the lipomas are small, however, and when they aren’t located in areas that could be dangerous to operate on. If the growth grows too large, it could start to encroach on nerves and blood vessels, making surgery trickier and more invasive.
Liposuction
Injections
While it’s not as common as surgery or liposuction, injections can also be used to treat lipomas. How it works is healthcare providers inject medications directly into the lipomas to break them down or shrink them, which can make them easier to surgically remove or for the body to dispose of on its own.
The two primary injections are made up using sodium deoxycholate or steroids combined with isoproterenol. The compounds used in the injections effectively dissolve or shrink the fat tissue down, allowing the body’s immune system to more easily attack and remove them.
While research shows that injections can, in fact, make the lumps smaller, it’s not always the most effective treatment option. Some studies show that injections could actually make lipomas larger or grow back even after they’ve been treated.They also can inadvertently affect other tissue (ex. muscles or tendons) or cause unpleasant—though often temporary—side effects like bruising, swelling at the injection sites, or a disruption in the way the body breaks down fats in the bloodstream.
A Word From Verywell
4 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Kolb L, Barazi H, Rosario-Collazo JA.Lipoma. In: StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing.Charifa A, Badri T.Lipomas, pathologyIn: StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls.Copeland-Halperin LR, Pimpinella V, Copeland M.Combined liposuction and excision of lipomas: long-term evaluation of a large sample of patients.Plast Surg Int. 2015;2015:625396. doi:10.1155/2015/625396Amber KT, Ovadia S, Camacho I.Injection therapy for the management of superficial subcutaneous lipomas.J Clin Aesthet Dermatol.
4 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Kolb L, Barazi H, Rosario-Collazo JA.Lipoma. In: StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing.Charifa A, Badri T.Lipomas, pathologyIn: StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls.Copeland-Halperin LR, Pimpinella V, Copeland M.Combined liposuction and excision of lipomas: long-term evaluation of a large sample of patients.Plast Surg Int. 2015;2015:625396. doi:10.1155/2015/625396Amber KT, Ovadia S, Camacho I.Injection therapy for the management of superficial subcutaneous lipomas.J Clin Aesthet Dermatol.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Kolb L, Barazi H, Rosario-Collazo JA.Lipoma. In: StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing.Charifa A, Badri T.Lipomas, pathologyIn: StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls.Copeland-Halperin LR, Pimpinella V, Copeland M.Combined liposuction and excision of lipomas: long-term evaluation of a large sample of patients.Plast Surg Int. 2015;2015:625396. doi:10.1155/2015/625396Amber KT, Ovadia S, Camacho I.Injection therapy for the management of superficial subcutaneous lipomas.J Clin Aesthet Dermatol.
Kolb L, Barazi H, Rosario-Collazo JA.Lipoma. In: StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing.
Charifa A, Badri T.Lipomas, pathologyIn: StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls.
Copeland-Halperin LR, Pimpinella V, Copeland M.Combined liposuction and excision of lipomas: long-term evaluation of a large sample of patients.Plast Surg Int. 2015;2015:625396. doi:10.1155/2015/625396
Amber KT, Ovadia S, Camacho I.Injection therapy for the management of superficial subcutaneous lipomas.J Clin Aesthet Dermatol.
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