Common symptoms
- A soft, doughy lump that moves under the skin
- Usually painless and slow-growing over months or years
- Common on the back, shoulders, neck, arms and thighs
Get it examined soon if
- The lump is hard, fixed, or growing quickly
- It is painful, or larger than about 5 cm
- It lies deep in the muscle, or appeared after an injury
Treatment without surgery
A small lipoma that is not growing or bothering you can simply be watched. No medicine, cream or injection reliably dissolves a lipoma.
- Examination, and an ultrasound if the diagnosis is uncertain
- Watching small, stable lumps
Treatment options
Which option suits you is decided after examination — sometimes the answer is no procedure at all.
Excision
Through a small cut, the lipoma is removed whole with its capsule, which makes recurrence unlikely. The tissue can be sent for testing.
Suited toGrowing, painful, uncomfortable or uncertain lumps — or by choice
Recovery
Most people go home within a few hours. Stitches come out after about 7–10 days; avoid strain on the area for a week or two.
Insurance
Salalkar Hospital supports insurance reimbursement — you receive the bills, discharge summary and documents your insurer asks for. Many policies have a waiting period for conditions such as piles, fissure, fistula and hernia, so check your policy wording before planning surgery.
Questions
Can a lipoma turn into cancer?
Lipomas are benign and very rarely change. But a lump that is hard, deep or growing fast should be examined to confirm it really is a lipoma.
Will it come back after removal?
When removed whole with its capsule, a lipoma rarely returns in the same place. New lipomas can occasionally appear elsewhere.