Fibrolipomas: types, causes of this formation, methods of diagnosis and treatment

Many have had to deal with the fact that seals form under the skin, which soon begin to grow.

These are subcutaneous wen that can appear on various parts of the body of a man, woman, and even a child. Often, they are benign and do not cause a person any discomfort. However, this does not mean that therapy is not necessary. Such neoplasms do not go away on their own, but only grow.

What it is

The subcutaneous wen is a compaction consisting of adipose tissue cells covered with a membrane. In medicine, such tumors are called lipomas. Their sizes vary (from a few millimeters to seven or more centimeters). The shade of the skin where the lipoma is localized remains unchanged. Sometimes the fatty tissue filling the tumor leads to the appearance of a slight yellowness.

Often a person does not notice the appearance of a lipoma, because it develops painlessly (for example, when the formation is located on the back of the neck or back). As the lump grows, the nerve endings of the tissues surrounding it are compressed, causing discomfort.

Examination for fibrolipomas

Subcutaneous lipomas are round, mobile, not fused to the skin and surrounding tissues. Diagnosis is based on the location of lipomas, their consistency, mobility and painless palpation. There should be no retraction of the skin when it is stretched over the tumor.

In addition, laboratory testing is carried out. But when making a diagnosis, the results are not decisive. If the formation is located on internal organs, the spinal canal or joints, then additional diagnostic methods are used:

ultrasonography;
radiography, computed tomography.

If there is any doubt about the benign nature of the neoplasm, a puncture aspiration biopsy is performed with further cytological examination. Under local anesthesia, a fragment of the tumor is removed using a very thin needle. The study of biological material is carried out under a microscope.

Kinds

Wen are divided into several types:

soft tissue lipoma (such a compaction is extremely rarely located under the skin);
lumbosacral lipoma (a neoplasm develops in the spinal cord or vertebrae);
perineural lipoma (it surrounds the nerve endings, so its removal is quite difficult);
intermuscular lipoma (such a compaction grows into muscle tissue, so it is necessary to carefully remove it to avoid possible relapses in the future);
lipoma of tendons and synovial membrane of joints;
milia (white wen, mistakenly mistaken for acne, which appears on the face due to blockage of the sebaceous glands, which are too active in their functions);
thoracoabdominal lipoma (a neoplasm that develops in the area of the peritoneum or chest after receiving severe mechanical injuries);
angiolipoma (often, such neoplasms affect the kidneys and practically do not appear on the skin);
adenolipoma (a type of wen containing components of the structure of the sweat gland);
pericallosal lipoma (neoplasm developing from fat cells of the corpus callosum of the brain, or in the interhemispheric fissure).

Treatment methods and prevention

Until recently, only surgery was used to treat soft tissue myolipoma. It is important to remove the formation along with the capsule; even a small piece of the connective tissue membrane can provoke a relapse of the disease.

Due to the large number of contraindications and possible complications, modern medical centers are beginning to develop therapeutic methods that can completely get rid of wen. A similar clinical trial was conducted by the American company Biospecifics Technologies, during which 12 patients with myolipomas of various locations and sizes took part. It was found that collagenase injections have a positive effect on the size of neoplasia and help reduce its diameter.

It is difficult to talk about the prevention of myolipomas; the pathogenesis of the disease is not fully understood. It is believed that a healthy lifestyle, proper nutrition, and a balance of sleep and wakefulness can reduce the risk of these benign formations.

The article has been reviewed by the site editors

Causes

To date, there is no clear root cause for the appearance of subcutaneous wen. Experts have identified only certain factors that may provoke the development of tumors:

eating foods containing large amounts of fats and carbohydrates;
metabolic disorder;
various hereditary disorders;
hormonal imbalance;
problems with the functioning of the thyroid gland;
diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and other internal organs (liver, kidneys, pancreas);
insufficient amount of physical activity;
presence of bad habits (smoking, drinking alcohol);
diabetes.

Rules of behavior in the postoperative period

Upon completion of breast surgery, several mandatory actions must be performed:

Treat the suture (puncture site) with anti-inflammatory agents, carefully observing the discharge from it.
Take hormonal drugs to correct metabolic processes, immunostimulating drugs, and vitamins under the supervision of a doctor.
Adjust your diet, eating only healthy foods, with special emphasis on vegetables, fruits, and water dishes.
Strictly follow the daily routine, ensure a good healthy night's sleep.

Symptoms

When the disease is just beginning to develop, the neoplasm does not cause visible symptoms or discomfort. This leads to the fact that a person does not immediately turn to specialists to start therapy. There are single and multiple lipomas. Neoplasms are a node surrounded by a capsule. When adipose tissue begins to grow, the lipoma may not be limited to the capsule and occupy a large area of the skin. When the tumor grows, you may notice the following symptoms characteristic of lipoma:

discomfort in the area of the tumor;
swelling of the skin;
lymph stagnation.

To reduce the likelihood of serious complications, if lumps appear under the skin, you should not delay consulting a doctor. If the swelling is not eliminated through effective treatment, tissue nutrition will be disrupted, as a result of which suppuration may form, leading to skin necrosis.

This phenomenon can result not only in serious infectious complications, but also lead to sepsis, which is life-threatening.

What is a lump on the tongue?

Among the main causes of the pathological condition are sialadenitis and cysts. The doctor determines the possible pathology in the patient based on the clinical picture of the tumor. If the lump is white, then most likely we are talking about sialadenitis. The same formation can be observed in pathology of the salivary glands.

The patient should also tell the doctor about the symptoms that bother him. This may be discomfort, burning or itching on the surface of the organ. The neoplasm is localized not only at the tip of the tongue and its outer surface, but also under it. The problem is often accompanied by a general deterioration in health: a rise in temperature, the formation of purulent masses in the salivary glands.

Among the common causes of pathology are also cystic formations that affect older people. The lump on the tongue in this case will have white or light shades.

All about the ball on the frenulum under the tongue

The difficulty of diagnosis lies in the fact that at the initial stages of the appearance of a lump, characteristic clinical signs are not felt. A small pimple on the surface of the tongue may remain undetected. A person notices a problem with the growth of a tumor. Painful sensations may not appear, but the patient notes the presence of a foreign body in the oral cavity.

You should consult a doctor immediately after detecting the first symptoms of a problem. This is especially true in cases where the tumor quickly increases in size or grows into neighboring tissues.

Diagnosis of lipomas

An inflamed wen is similar in its symptoms to atheroma (a neoplasm involving the sebaceous glands). They are distinguished according to the area where the compactions are localized. Small lipomas located on the surface of the skin can be diagnosed by a specialist after an initial examination of the patient. If the tumor is located under the skin, it can be determined by contrast-enhanced radiography, ultrasound, or computed tomography.

How is a lipoma inside the breast diagnosed?

Subcutaneous fatty tumors rarely develop into malignant neoplasms. Most often, a lipoma in the breast undergoes this change - inside the mammary gland or in the mediastinum (the area in the upper chest). Tumors are detected during X-rays, and in most cases surgery is prescribed.

It is important! A lipoma in the mammary gland is removed because the tumor grows and damages the glandular tissue.

The doctor conducts a visual examination and prescribes x-ray and computed tomography examinations. It is especially important to carry out CT and ultrasound if the wen grows into the sternum, muscles or organs.

Additionally, cytological material is examined to confirm the malignant or benign nature of the tumor.

Treatment options

It is best to entrust treatment of a wen under the skin to a qualified doctor. Only he can diagnose the compaction, determine its nature, possible root causes of development, and also select the most effective treatment. Before choosing a method of treating a lipoma, it is necessary to research it. To do this, a puncture is made to obtain the contents of the tumor. When the lipoma has already started, as a result of which it has grown greatly, its nature is determined by conducting an ultrasound examination.

Under no circumstances should you treat lumps under the skin yourself. This can be dangerous to the patient's health and put his life in danger.

Medication

The appearance of multiple lipomas on the skin, the root causes of which are diseases of various internal organs, should be treated comprehensively. The seal is not only removed, but in parallel the patient is prescribed certain medications, which may include:

essential phospholipids (Essentiale in the form of capsules or injections);
enzymes (for example, Mezin, Creon);
choleretic (for example, Cholenzym);
medications that lower plasma cholesterol (for example, Lovastatin, Simvastatin). They are used if the need arises;
thyroxine preparations, which are used to treat hypothyroidism.

Surgical

Surgical excision of a lipoma is carried out not only at the request of the patient, but also when there are certain indications:

He feels pain in the area of compaction, provoked by its pressure on the vessels and nerve endings located nearby;
Symptoms indicating the onset of an inflammatory process provoked by the growth of a tumor;
Active growth of lipoma;
The seal is a cosmetic defect on the skin;
The tumor interferes with the functioning of the tissues and organs that surround it.

The specialist determines which anesthesia and lipoma removal method to choose, taking into account many factors: the location of the tumor, its diameter, and the patient’s state of health. When the tumor is small, general anesthesia is often not used, and pain relief is performed locally.

Forecast

In cases of soft tissue fibrolipoma, treatment can only be surgical. Surgery is not performed in all cases of the disease. Surgery is indicated for the following manifestations: large tumor size, rapid growth of volumes, pressure on nearby organs, pain.

Removal of soft tissue fibroids can be done by several methods: surgery, laser excision, using radio waves. In modern medicine, preference is given to the radio wave method of tumor removal and laser excision of the tumor.

Such procedures take place practically without a single drop of blood, with the simultaneous process of sterilizing the wound with a wave or beam. The possibility of injury to the body and skin during these types of operations is minimal, so the patient will be able to return to their normal lifestyle as soon as possible.

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The remaining wound after the operation heals quickly; if the tumor was small, there may be no scars left. Relapses after radio wave removal of the tumor do not occur.

The prognosis for treatment of fibrolipoma in the early stages is always positive; relapses and complications are rare, but can be as follows:

the occurrence of an inflammatory process in the tissues of the wen;
transformation of lipoma into liposarcoma (cancer);
displacement of nearby organs and tissues.

In general, with timely treatment and professionalism of the doctor, the prognosis of the disease is always positive.