Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsCausesOther Skin LumpsDiagnosisTreatment
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Causes
Other Skin Lumps
Diagnosis
Treatment
Lumps under your skin can have many causes—and not all of them are serious. One possibility is that they arelipomas, non-cancerous tumors made up of fatty tissue that may or may not be painful. Lipomas are a common cause of movable lumps under the skin anyplace on the body. They do not always need to be treated.
This article goes over the symptoms, causes, and diagnosis of lipomas. It also covers other possible causes of skin lumps and when to talk to your provider.
Symptoms of Lipoma Skin Lumps
Lipomas are rarely life-threatening and may not cause symptoms. Symptoms include
Causes of Lipoma
It’snot clear why lipomas happen. Some people might have genetics that make them more likely to get lipomas than others. Researchers have not found specific risk factors—for example, working a certain kind of job and being exposed to chemicals—that make lipomas more likely to happen.
Some research suggests that having an injury to a part of the body might make a lipoma more likely to form there.Certain health conditionslike high cholesterol, obesity, and diabetes might also be linked to lipomas.
Dercum’s DiseaseA rare condition called Dercum’s disease can cause large, very painful lipomas. The lumps under the skin can appear anywhere on the body, but they’re most often found on the arms, legs, and trunk.
Dercum’s Disease
A rare condition called Dercum’s disease can cause large, very painful lipomas. The lumps under the skin can appear anywhere on the body, but they’re most often found on the arms, legs, and trunk.
This photo contains content that some people may find graphic or disturbing.See PhotoTimoninaIryna / Getty Images
This photo contains content that some people may find graphic or disturbing.See Photo
This photo contains content that some people may find graphic or disturbing.
Other Causes of Skin Lumps
If you have skin lumps, they may not be lipomas. Other common causes of lumpy skin include:
Less common but possibly serious causes of lumps under the skin include:
Rarely, a fatty lump under the skin is a type of cancer calledliposarcoma. These tumors usually grow quickly. The lumps are painful and less moveable than a lipoma).
Chronic conditions likehidradenitis suppurativacan also cause painful lumps under the skin that may need to be treated.
Diagnosing Lipoma Skin Lumps
Lipomas are usually diagnosed after other causes of skin lumps all over the body are ruled out.
If your provider thinks that the fatty lumps under your skin are lipomas, you may not need to do anything about them. The next steps will depend on whether you have other health conditions, and whether the lipomas are bothering you.
Your provider might want to do other tests to look for or rule out other conditions that can cause lumps before diagnosing the lump as a lipoma. For example, blood tests can be used to check for genetic conditions and infections.
When Should Lipomas Be Treated?
Lipomas that do not cause pain do not need to be treated.
If OTC medicines do not help, your provider might recommend tryinghydrocortisone shotsto reduce inflammation and shrink the lipomas.
It’s not usually necessary to have surgery to remove a lipoma. Liposuction is one surgical way to remove lipomas, but it can lead to more pain.
For that reason, it’s not usually recommended to treat lipomas in people living with fibromyalgia. Also, the pain relief from surgery is often just temporary, as pain tends to come back over time.
Your provider may recommend other treatments for lipomas, including:
Summary
Do not assume that lumps and bumps arejust lipomas. Have your healthcare provider take a look at the lumps and decide if you need treatment.
8 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.
American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.Lipoma.MedlinePlus.Adiposis dolorosa.Fallahian F, Ardestani A, Pranckevicius E, Raut CP, Tavakkoli A, Sheu EG.The impact of lipomatous tumors on type 2 diabetes: Are adipose-derived tumors metabolically active?.Journal of Surgical Research. 2018;222:48-54. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2017.09.040National Organization of Rare Disorders.Dercum’s disease.American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.Lipoma.American Academy of Dermatology Assocation.Hidradenitis suppurativa.Peev I, Spasevska L, Mirchevska E, Tudzarova-Gjorgova S.Liposuction assisted lipoma removal – option or alternative?Open Access Maced J Med Sci. 2017;5(6):766-770. doi:10.3889%2Foamjms.2017.186Kucharz EJ, Kopeć-Mędrek M, Kramza J, Chrzanowska M, Kotyla P.Dercum’s disease (adiposis dolorosa): a review of clinical presentation and management.Reumatologia. 2019;57(5):281-87.doi: 10.5114/reum.2019.89521
American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.Lipoma.
MedlinePlus.Adiposis dolorosa.
Fallahian F, Ardestani A, Pranckevicius E, Raut CP, Tavakkoli A, Sheu EG.The impact of lipomatous tumors on type 2 diabetes: Are adipose-derived tumors metabolically active?.Journal of Surgical Research. 2018;222:48-54. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2017.09.040
National Organization of Rare Disorders.Dercum’s disease.
American Academy of Dermatology Assocation.Hidradenitis suppurativa.
Peev I, Spasevska L, Mirchevska E, Tudzarova-Gjorgova S.Liposuction assisted lipoma removal – option or alternative?Open Access Maced J Med Sci. 2017;5(6):766-770. doi:10.3889%2Foamjms.2017.186
Kucharz EJ, Kopeć-Mędrek M, Kramza J, Chrzanowska M, Kotyla P.Dercum’s disease (adiposis dolorosa): a review of clinical presentation and management.Reumatologia. 2019;57(5):281-87.doi: 10.5114/reum.2019.89521
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