What Is Multiple Lipoma?

Lipomas are composed of well-differentiated adipose tissue, which occur mostly under the skin. Around the tumor there is a thin layer of connective tissue cysts containing normal adipocytes divided into leaf-like clusters by connective tissue bundles. In addition to a large amount of adipose tissue, some lipomas also contain more connective tissue or blood vessels, forming complex lipomas. A single is called a solitary lipoma. Two or more are called multiple lipomas. Multiple lipomas have small tumors, about 1 cm in diameter, and generally do not require treatment after diagnosis. Single large lipomas should be surgically removed.

Basic Information

English name

multiple lipoma

Visiting department

Dermatology, Oncology

Common locations

Shoulders, back, hips, inner thighs, head, etc.

Contagious

no

Causes of multiple lipomas

Diet factor

Excessive drinking, often eating fatty meat, animal viscera, scaleless fish or egg yolk, etc. People who eat too much fatty products and high cholesterol foods cause too many new adipose tissues, making too many fat cells in the body heterogeneous and hard .

2. Stress factors

Excessive work stress and irritability can cause normal adipose tissue and congestion to be intertwined, and connective tissue can be formed to envelop adipocytes for a long time to form lipoma.

3. Bad living habits

Poor living habits such as staying up late can reduce the body's ability to break down fat. The original adipose tissue and newborn fat cannot be aligned properly, forming abnormal adipose tissue, that is, "lipoma."

Clinical manifestations of multiple lipomas

These tumors are common in the shoulders, back, buttocks, and inner thighs. Head disease is also common. Lipomas located in the subcutaneous tissue vary in size, most of which are oblate or lobed with clear boundaries; those with indistinct boundaries should beware of the possibility of malignant lipomas. Tumors are soft and elastic (note the difference from larger cysts), and some may have a false sense of fluctuation. The tumor does not adhere to the epidermis, the skin surface is completely normal, and the base is more extensive. During the examination, the base of the lipoma was squeezed by hand, and the leaf morphology was visible. Skin can appear "orange peel". Tumors develop very slowly, most of which have no serious adverse effects on the body, and few have malignant changes. In addition, there is another type of multiple round or oval nodular lipoma, which is common under the skin of the limbs, waist and abdomen. The size and number of tumors are uncertain, slightly harder than general lipomas, and painful during compression, so they are called painful lipomas or multiple lipomas.

Multiple lipoma examination

Routine physical examination.

Multiple lipoma treatment

Treatment principle

(1) Smaller (within 1 cm in diameter) multiple lipomas usually do not require treatment.

(2) Those with larger compression symptoms can be resected surgically.

2. Treatment

The only effective treatment is surgical resection. For multiple patients (some patients can reach more than a hundred), those with larger compression symptoms can be surgically removed, but cannot be cured. Some use liposuction, make a small incision on the skin, insert a straw, and remove large lipomas or local hyperlipidemia without leaving significant scars.