A subcutaneous lump, painful or numb, could be a fat lump or lipoma. People often worry about this, even though the bump is almost always benign. However, it can be in an annoying place on the arm, back, neck or above the buttocks, causing you to suffer from it in everyday life. You can then consider having the spot surgically removed. In other cases, treatment is often not necessary and the bump can remain in place without any problems.
Fat bump or lipoma
- What is a fat lump?
- Where can fat lumps occur?
- Xanthelasma and adiposis dolorosa
- Remove a fat lump
- What to do if you notice that you have a lipoma?
What is a fat lump?
A lipoma or lipoma is also colloquially called a fat lump or fat lump. This is a tumor of fatty tissue cells that is benign. Such a growth looks like a round or oval subcutaneous bump. They can be very small, just a few millimeters in circumference, or they can become huge lumps. It never becomes a hard drive under your skin. Fat bumps are always week, sometimes fluctuating. There are also stalked fat lumps. The condition is not limited to humans but can also occur in animals such as dogs, horses and rodents.
Where can fat lumps occur?
Fat bumps can appear anywhere on the body as long as it is a place where fat cells are located. However, we see that they are especially common on the back, neck and lower legs, near the knee, wrist and forearms. Lipomas are actually very normal and almost every person has a few, but they are often very small and not painful. There is no link with cellulite. It is also not the case that they occur more often in people who are overweight or eat a lot of fat.
Xanthelasma and adiposis dolorosa
Something that can look very similar to a lipoma but is not one is a xanthelasma (also called palpebrarum), a yellow bump near the eye or eyelid that is not painful. This concerns an accumulation of cholesterol stored in the dermis. It is located in macrophages, a specific cell type, and therefore not in fat cells. The development of xanthelasma is still a medical mystery, although there sometimes appears to be a link with arteriosclerosis. A xanthelasma is harmless and can often be treated by peeling with trichloroacetic acid or by freezing the spot. This treatment is purely for cosmetic purposes, there is no harm in leaving it on if it does not bother you.There is a very rare condition in which the occurrence of many lipomas is one of the main symptoms, namely Dercum’s disease , also known as adiposis dolorosa. In patients with this condition, the fatty lumps are large in number and are also exceptionally painful. Additional symptoms include fatigue, stiffness, joint pain, warm-feeling patches of skin, and sore skin when showering. In the Netherlands there are only slightly more than a handful of patients with Dercum’s disease.
Remove a fat lump
It is normally not necessary to treat a lipoma. However, if it is painful, becomes very unsightly, is in an uncomfortable place or a doctor suspects that the tumor may be malignant, surgical intervention (excision) may be required. A malignant fat lump (a liposarcoma) is very rare. Even if the bump grows quickly and is painful or gives a burning sensation, this does not necessarily mean anything. A problem with removing a fat lump is that the tissue can fluctuate so much that it is often difficult to remove everything during an operation. If some tissue remains, there is a good chance that it will recur. Follow-up treatment may then be necessary.
What to do if you notice that you have a lipoma?
If you feel a subcutaneous lump that meets the above description and you are also bothered by this, it is advisable to consult your own doctor. As mentioned, the chance that the lump is malignant is very small, but you naturally want to be on the safe side. If the bump is very ugly and is in a visible place or is it, for example, just near your collar or the strap of your bra, your doctor can refer you to a surgeon to assess whether the fat bump can be removed.