Lipoma (popularly called a wen) is a benign tumor formed as a result of the growth of fatty tissue in the body. Subcutaneous disease mainly occurs in people over thirty years of age and extremely rarely appears in children. In exceptional cases, when a lipoma appears on a baby’s body (see photo), it grows along with the baby’s body, and sometimes even outstrips this growth.
There are several types of wen . The most dangerous type of unpleasant neoplasm is considered to be atheroma, which is often confused with a wen. Unlike a wen, the maximum diameter of an atheroma is only 3 cm, but it can cause lightning-fast inflammation and suppuration, since it reacts sharply to any infection present in the human body. The only striking feature of this neoplasm is its dark color. Lipoma, a photo of which is best found on special medical websites, is less dangerous and more treatable.
What is lipoma
Lipoma on the back
This benign formation of fat cells (which is why it is often called “fat”), as a rule, develops in a layer of loose connective tissue under the skin. It can also penetrate deeper between the muscles and vascular bundles to the periosteum.
Most often, it forms in the subcutaneous fatty tissue of the face and body - the upper back, shoulder girdle, outer surface of the shoulder, outer surface of the thigh, head, mammary glands, etc. However, it can also form in organs where there is a fat layer.
The tumor grows slowly, has a soft consistency, and is easily movable. Most lipomas are completely painless. In itself, its treatment is not required, since it does not pose a danger to human health and life. Very rarely, this neoplasm in the subcutaneous fat (unlike, for example, papillomas) degenerates into malignant liposarcoma.
Breast lipoma with a large tumor size can deform the breast. It is very important that it does not degenerate into cancer . Another question is if the tumor makes movement difficult or, if large, causes aesthetic discomfort to a person. A large tumor can also put pressure on surrounding tissue and cause pain.
There are so-called diffuse lipomas - these are cluster-shaped accumulations of fat that do not have clear boundaries. Most often, they are associated with cases of gigantic growth of human body parts, when one or more limbs become enormous in size.
Traditional methods of treatment
Official medicine does not exclude the use of folk remedies. You can try to remove a small wen on the neck using various recipes.
Recipes:
- The baked onion is mixed with crushed laundry soap. The ointment is used for applications and repeated several times a day.
- A layer of honey is spread on the formation on the neck, gauze is placed on top, then a film is placed. Fix with adhesive tape. Leave for several hours.
- Chopped garlic is mixed with vegetable oil. Apply to education. Leave for about an hour.
- Twice a day you can apply grated beets to the sore spot on your neck.
- The aloe leaf is cut in half, the inside is applied to the wen and fixed. Repeat several times a day.
If you manage to remove the contents, but the wound is bleeding, you can use hydrogen peroxide. If there is severe bleeding, you should go to the hospital. The choice of folk remedies is quite wide, but they can only be used for small-sized wen. It is worth monitoring the body's reaction to such medications.
Lipoma on the face and body: photo
On the head
On the chest On the forehead
On the arm On the neck
On the back
On the foot
On the eyelid,
subcutaneous lipomas are easier to diagnose. If the tumor is located deeper, various studies are required to make a diagnosis - ultrasound, puncture biopsy.
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Diagnosis of the disease
Before prescribing the necessary treatment, a thorough diagnosis is carried out to make an accurate diagnosis.
At the first stage, visual inspection and palpation of the wen are used. If necessary, studies of the neck and lipoma are prescribed using computed tomography, ultrasound, and x-rays. General blood and urine tests are taken from the patient.
If suspicion arises, a biopsy is performed to determine the presence or absence of malignant cells in the wen.
After receiving all the examination results, the most appropriate treatment is selected for each individual case.
Types of lipomas
According to the classification, lipomas are distinguished:
- perineural. These are neoplasms surrounding the nerves. They are always painful and difficult to remove;
- lumbosacral. Neoplasms are produced in the spinal canal or near the vertebrae. Often such tumors are associated with congenital underdevelopment of these areas;
- sheaths, tendons and synovium of the joint. Neoplasms are located in the named places;
- intermuscular. Such lipomas grow through the muscles. If they are not completely removed, they reappear;
- soft tissue myolipomas. Among them, subcutaneous neoplasms are rare;
- angiolipomas. They are most often formed in the kidneys, on the skin - rarely, as a rule, they are found in mature men and look like a painless dense knot under the skin of the limb;
- adenolipomas. Such neoplasms have the structure of a sweat gland, and therefore are difficult to distinguish from atheromas.
Who to contact and additional treatment
If you find an unknown tumor on your neck, you should first consult a dermatologist. He will conduct the necessary examinations and, if necessary, refer you to a surgeon or oncologist. Do not be afraid of doctors; timely treatment will speed up the recovery process.
More information about treatment
In certain cases, specialists prescribe physiotherapeutic procedures. The use of electrophoresis helps to cope with numbness in the neck, improve blood circulation, and stops the growth of formation.
It is worth paying attention to physical exercise. They have a beneficial effect on the entire body as a whole.
During treatment you should adhere to proper nutrition. All fatty, fried, smoked foods are removed from the diet. It is worth giving preference to vegetables, fruits, lean meat and fish dishes.
Should I remove the lipoma?
It is advisable to remove lipoma.
Formations on the body can only be removed through surgery. In this case, an important condition is that the tumor must be completely removed, otherwise a relapse is possible.
Regarding the question “Should I remove the lipoma?” , doctors strongly advise doing this. Despite the fact that it rarely degenerates into a malignant neoplasm, the aesthetic result (scar, etc.) after removing a large lipoma will be worse than when removing a smaller tumor.
Of course, if the tumor is small and does not cause any inconvenience, it does not need to be removed. However, you need to understand that no folk remedies will help get rid of it. Lipomas do not resolve on their own. Treatment at home will not only not help, but can also cause harm. If the wen is removed incorrectly, there will be a relapse with additional complications.
In addition, self-diagnosis and treatment can have other consequences: without being a specialist, a person may mistake a serious tumor for a harmless lipoma, the treatment of which cannot be delayed.
Lipoma, although it is formed by fat cells, cannot be eliminated by losing weight. This type of wen is a tumor and will not go away with weight loss.
How to remove a wen
All methods of removing wen can be divided into two groups:
- Folk;
- Standard.
First, let's look at the basic folk methods. There is little choice here:
- Applying the Golden Mustache directly to the lipoma. The duration of such a compress should be 12 hours.
- Rub garlic in the most crushed form directly into the wen until the lipoma completely disappears.
Standard methods include conservative and surgical methods and their possible combinations. Especially if the wen has already reached a large size, it makes sense to immediately go to the doctor rather than tempt fate.
The doctor will conduct the necessary examination of the material to rule out oncology.
Lipoma removal surgery
Today, removal of lipomas in the operating room can be carried out using both the classical method using a scalpel and others: laser, radio wave, electrocoagulation, puncture-aspiration, and less often - cryodestruction.
The appropriateness of using a particular method is determined by the doctor based on the patient’s existing problem.
Classic surgery involves removing large lipomas under general anesthesia. Only patients with small tumors are operated on using local anesthesia.
Classic operation
During the operation, the surgeon makes an incision over the area of the lipoma and removes it along with the capsule. After complete removal of the tumor, the surgical wound is sutured most often using self-absorbing threads, and an antiseptic bandage is applied on top.
If a tumor of significant size has been removed, it becomes necessary to install thin drains for several days.
Naturally, there will be a scar from the operation, but over time it will fade significantly. It is to reduce the severity of the scar that doctors recommend not delaying the operation so that the tumor does not have time to grow to a significant size.
The operation almost always brings a complete recovery. After surgical removal of the lipoma, the patient remains in the hospital for several days under the supervision of doctors.
After the tumor is removed, it is sent for histological examination.
Many practicing surgeons consider the classical method of lipoma removal to be the only one, since laser and other methods, in their opinion, make it impossible to remove it. This is a subcutaneous formation, and laser can only eliminate formations on the skin.
Laser removal
Removal of a lipoma using a laser , radio wave method or electrocoagulation does not leave scars and is carried out under local anesthesia. Most often, small tumors and formations on the face are removed using these methods. Wound healing occurs already 4–5 days after the intervention. The operation itself does not affect the patient’s ability to work. The risk of possible complications in the form of suppuration and swelling is minimal.
With the puncture-aspiration method, a wide-bore needle is inserted into the lipoma and the contents are pumped out using an electric pump. The advantages of this method: there are no stitches, no bandages, the patient can go home on the day of surgery. The main disadvantage: unlike surgery, this method does not remove the tumor capsule (only its contents), and therefore there is a risk of relapse.
Medicines for the disease
How to remove a lipoma on the neck in an adult or child using medications? For these purposes, products with a resolving effect are often used - Vishnevsky ointment, Ichthyol ointment.
However, they can only be used for small volumes of wen. Both ointments are used for compresses and applied to the formation several times a day until complete recovery.
If the cause of the appearance of wen is chronic diseases of any organs, then medications are selected aimed at restoring their normal functioning.
All medications are used only with the permission of a specialist; self-medication can lead to an exacerbation of the process.
Reasons for appearance
Wen on the forehead and the exact reasons for their appearance are not clear. The theory of demodicosis is supported by the fact that lipomas appear when immunity declines. In the sebaceous and meibomian glands, skin mites are activated, blocking the lumen. Invasion provokes the accumulation of fat in the skin cavity, the formation of a defect.
The hereditary theory is explained by familial cases of lipomatosis.
Impaired fat metabolism due to lack of activity and the prevalence of animal products in the diet is clinically expressed by the growth of low-density lipoproteins in the blood, which clog blood vessels. Then a connective tissue capsule with many partitions is formed, due to which the illusion of a lobular structure of the tumor appears.
When the system that regulates the degree of tissue fat deposition changes, the volume of this tissue increases in the body. When they accumulate in certain areas, including the forehead, lipomas form. Reasons for failure of the fat metabolism process:
- radiation;
- injuries;
- burns;
- frostbite.
