Have you removed a lipoma?
Question:
My options for having it removed without paying are slim to none. I was therefore considering doing the surgery myself.
Are there any surgeons or student surgeons who have removed lipomas and can advise me of anything I should know about self-excision of a lipoma? If I cut the skin with a scalpel (after strilising it of course) will the lipoma pop out easily enough or will it require further manipulation?
Basically how easy is this to do yourself?
Many thanks.
Answers:
A lipoma is a common, benign tumor composed of fatty tissue. Lipomas are soft to the touch, sometimes moveable, and are generally painless. They grow very slowly, and have not been found to become cancerous (malignant liposarcoma, however, also arises from fatty tissue). Many lipomas are small but can enlarge to sizes greater than six centimeters.
Often, treatment of a lipoma is not necessary, unless the tumor becomes painful or restricts movement. Many people have them removed for cosmetic reasons. However, if the capsule of the lipoma is not completely removed during the surgery, it may grow back.
A lipoma may be removed by simple excision, but liposuction is another option that often results in less scarring if the lipoma is soft and has a small connective tissue component. However, liposuction has a greater tendency to not remove the entire lipoma, which often results in re-growth.
There are new methods being developed that are supposed to remove the lipomas without the scarring. One of them is removal by the use of protein injection. Another method being developed is the use of ultrasound waves to destroy the lipoma. This can be compared with the removal of kidney stones that uses the same sort of technique to pulverize the stones.
Do not take the risk of doing the surgery yourself. It is a simple proceedure and should be done by a surgeon only.
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