Lipomas and Your Skin

Lipomas are subcutaneous soft tissue tumors that usually are slow-growing and are harmless. They have a soft, rubbery consistency. Lipomas tend to form on the trunk, shoulders, neck, but can appear elsewhere on the body.

What Are the Symptoms of Lipomas?

Lipomas can appear as solitary nodules or in groups. Most lipomas are less than 5 cm in diameter and have no symptoms, but they can cause pain when they compress nerves

How Are Lipomas Treated?

Lipomas are not removed unless there is a cosmetic concern, a compression of surrounding structures, or an uncertain diagnosis. Lipomas generally do not infiltrate into surrounding tissue so they can be removed easily by excision.

Liposuction-assisted lipectomy also can be used to remove large lipomas with minimal scarring. Lipotherapy is another option. In this, a fat dissolving drug called deoxycholic acid (Kybella) is injected directly into the lipoma, leaving no scarring.