A lipoma or wen is a natural formation on the human body in the form of a small lump or lump. It occurs in the place where adipose tissue is present - on the head, neck, forehead, arms, back.
Removal of lipomas is carried out in different ways - from simple ones, using a surgical scalpel, to modern ones, using expensive laser or radio wave equipment.
The owners of lipomas are often women over 40 years old and less often men. These subcutaneous formations do not pose any danger to humans if you contact a surgeon in time and remove them correctly. The main thing is to remember that a benign formation can develop into a dangerous tumor, which will create serious problems if it is not removed in time.
Causes of lipoma formation
Currently, researchers have not been able to come to a clear conclusion about the reason why lipomas form. Among the most likely causes of the appearance of wen are malfunctions of the thyroid gland, poor-quality nutrition, which provokes the accumulation of toxins in adipose tissue, genetic predisposition, hormonal imbalances, problems in the functioning of the liver and gall bladder.
As a rule, wen do not degenerate into malignant formations. However, the problem is that although lipomas do not grow into neighboring tissues, they compress them when they grow in size. This provokes metabolic disorders and can cause pain. In addition, malignant tumors, such as liposarcoma, are often “masked” as lipomas. Therefore, in some cases, it is better to remove lipomas.
Thus, the reason for contacting a doctor should be an increase in the size of the formation or its shape, as well as the appearance of any physical discomfort associated with the lipoma. Causes for alarm are redness of the skin over the formation, itching or peeling.
According to doctors, it is necessary to remove fatty tissues located next to a cluster of blood vessels or nerve cells. In addition, formations located in areas of the skin that are exposed to frequent external influences should be cut out.
Dimensions and location
An ordinary wen is a round bulge 1-3 cm in diameter, painless to the touch. There are large ones - up to 10 cm and multiple formations. They can develop in any part of the body where there is adipose tissue, and even on internal organs. Wen are most often found in places where the sebaceous glands are localized:
- on the face (areas around the nose and eyes);
- on the head and neck (along the hairline, on the back of the head);
- armpits and arms;
- on the chest or back.
Growing lipomas located inside any organ, compressing tissue or causing pain must be eliminated. It is worth consulting a doctor if the wen has a leg that can twist and lead to tissue necrosis. These growths on the face, which is exposed to various influences every day and should look attractive, are always unpleasant and must be removed.
Lipoma removal methods
Today, there are several methods for removing wen. The decision on which method to use for surgical intervention is made in each specific case by the doctor after diagnosing the formation. It includes visual examination, palpation, ultrasound, CT or MRI, and biopsy. Tumors are removed by conventional surgical excision, endoscopy, radioknife, or laser removal. Laser lipoma removal is considered one of the most effective and innovative methods.
What is atheroma
When the sebaceous gland becomes clogged, it can become inflamed. This is how atheroma is formed. A benign formation appears in the groin area, on the neck, back or head - where the hair grows. Much less often, such a neoplasm occurs on the face or somewhere else. Laser removal of atheroma is one of the advanced ways to solve the problem.
It is easy to determine the nature of the formation - when pressed, a subcutaneous capsule filled with liquid is felt. Without treatment, the tumor grows rapidly and can reach the size of a chicken egg.
At an early stage, a small spherical lump appears. It gradually grows, but the growth rate is different - in some cases, the tumor does not grow for many years. In the center of the atheroma there is a black dot - a clogged duct of the sebaceous gland. This is the main difference from other types of tumors.
At the beginning, the disease is difficult to diagnose; the appearance of a wen does not cause pain and often goes unnoticed. But when the lipoma grows significantly, the patient begins to worry and goes to the clinic.
An ultrasound or computed tomogram is prescribed to help examine the course of the disease. Histological examination allows you to find out whether a patient has a malignant or benign formation. Next, a decision is made on the therapeutic method.
Pros and cons of laser removal
Laser lipoma removal is a method that is in high demand, despite the rather high cost of the procedure. The reason for this is that laser removal has an impressive list of undeniable advantages compared to other methods of combating fatty tissue. We list only the main ones.
- Thanks to the ability to adjust the equipment as accurately as possible, unnecessary damage to the tissues located next to the lipoma is eliminated.
- The laser itself coagulates the blood vessels, so the operation is virtually bloodless.
- The possibility of developing postoperative complications is practically excluded, since the laser beam has a bactericidal effect, disinfecting the surgical field.
- The non-contact nature of the method eliminates the possibility of wound infection by pathogenic organisms during surgery.
- After the operation there are no unaesthetic scars left.
- During surgery, the tumor is not completely destroyed, as a result of which histological analysis can be performed.
- The number of relapses with laser removal is negligible, since this method allows you to remove the lipoma along with the capsule.
- After the intervention, the patient recovers completely within one to two weeks.
However, like any surgical intervention, laser lipoma removal also has some negative characteristics. If the tumor is very large, the laser beam may accidentally affect nearby vessels and nerves. If the tumor is very tiny, then the laser simply destroys it, leaving no material for histological analysis.
Laser removal is not used if the wen is located very deep in the tissues. In this case, only traditional surgical excision will be effective.
Finally, the financial aspect is of considerable importance. Laser removal is an extremely expensive operation, so not everyone can afford it.
How is laser lipoma removal performed?
Laser excision of wen is usually performed by a general surgeon. The procedure can also be performed by an oncologist or plastic surgeon. Before the procedure, the patient must undergo all necessary tests and undergo an ultrasound. In some cases, a biopsy of the formation is performed to determine its structure. If the lipoma is located on the scalp, the required area is shaved.
Laser removal of fatty tissues is performed under local anesthesia. Lidocaine injections are used as an anesthetic. The lipoma removal procedure itself lasts from half an hour to forty minutes, depending on where exactly the tumor is located and what size it is.
First, the doctor uses a laser beam to cut the skin over the wen and spread the edges of the incision to allow wider access. Through this incision, the wen capsule is captured with a clamp. The surgeon pulls it up and uses a laser to remove the lipoma from the surrounding tissue, and then finally cleans out the location of the lipoma. If the neoplasm is small, the wound is not sutured - it is simply covered with a sterile bandage. If the wen was large, a cosmetic suture is applied to the wound. One of the advantages of laser surgery is that the beam of the device promotes tissue regeneration, as a result of which a postoperative scar does not form.
In most cases, the patient can return to normal life almost immediately after surgery. In particularly difficult cases, several days of bed rest may be necessary.
After removal of the wen, the tumor tissue is recommended to be sent for histological examination to definitively exclude the presence of malignant cells.
Risk factors for neglected conditions
A negative result of untimely medical care or self-medication can be:
- progressive growth of neoplasms;
- pain due to compression of tissues and nerve fibers;
- infection, redness and purulent discharge;
- poor circulation with the risk of tissue necrosis;
- the impossibility of getting rid of large lipomas without noticeable scars;
- attacks of suffocation caused by large formations on the neck;
- increased risk of transformation into malignant tumors.
Remember : you should not try to remove such a tumor yourself at home by cauterization, using rubs and lotions prepared according to “folk” recipes.
How to effectively remove a lipoma?
The wen itself is not capable of dissolving, and it will not be possible to cure it using conservative methods or folk remedies. Not all methods of combating these tumors are equally effective and will not get rid of them forever. The specialists of the Constanta Clinic in Yaroslavl have accumulated extensive experience in successfully removing lipomas surgically.
Unlike purely cosmetic procedures using laser or liquid nitrogen, surgery has a number of advantages:
- Possibility of cancer prevention . The material removed by the surgeon after the examination makes it possible to accurately determine the type of tumor.
- Substantiality of removal . The lipoma is cut out from the root, which prevents its reappearance.
- Minimum cost of fat removal compared to other procedures.
- The effectiveness of surgical intervention, which allows you to cope even with large or multiple lipomas in one session.
What do we offer patients with lipoma?
The Clinic has created comfortable conditions for removing fatty tissue without hospitalization or general anesthesia. The short surgery is performed on any part of the body, including the sensitive skin of the face and the area around the eyes. The procedure is performed under local anesthesia, so the patient does not experience pain. The operation is performed under sterile conditions by experienced surgeons using modern surgical equipment. Our doctors use a traditional scalpel, radiosurgical knife, and endoscopic equipment to remove fatty deposits on the face through a minimal incision.
After complete healing of the cosmetic seam, only a small glossy round pink mark remains in place of the wen. In its fresh form, it can easily be corrected with various ointments and creams with collagen.
How to behave after laser lipoma removal
The question of how to behave after laser removal of a wen worries many patients. Let us hasten to reassure them - getting rid of lipoma with a laser is considered the most gentle method. No complex additional manipulations are required after the procedure. In most cases, the patient returns home immediately after removal of the wen.
If there is pain or discomfort at the extraction site, your doctor may prescribe pain medications. During the first few days after surgery, a slight increase in temperature is possible, which does not require taking any additional medications.
Wen or not?
Sebaceous gland cysts (atheromas), which are formed when the gland duct is blocked, should be distinguished from wen. They look like white subcutaneous small formations similar to millet grains. Sebaceous gland cysts are treated by a cosmetologist during facial cleansing. They cannot be squeezed out, as this can introduce an infection into the duct and mechanically injure the skin.
Another formation similar to wen is a hernia of subcutaneous fatty tissue in the lower eyelid. With age, the orbicularis oculi muscle becomes flabby, and the fatty tissue that fills the orbit penetrates between the muscle fibers, forming characteristic triangular pouches. Therefore, removal of wen under the eyes is usually performed surgically, and blepharoplasty can be done at the same time. These formations are sometimes confused with edema and people try to get rid of them by taking diuretics, but an experienced cosmetologist will immediately distinguish fatty hernias.
Contraindications for laser fat removal
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There are relatively few contraindications for laser lipoma removal. First of all, such manipulations are not performed on people who have been diagnosed with diabetes. Laser removal is not recommended for pregnant and lactating women. It is also worth rescheduling the procedure if the patient has recently suffered from a cold or infectious disease.
The main causes of atheroma
The risk of the disease occurs in people with oily skin types and those whose hair gets dirty too quickly. Factors provoking the development of neoplasms:
- presence of genetic predisposition;
- violation of the integrity of the sebaceous glands;
- pathologies of child development;
- changes in hair follicles;
- increased sweating due to hormonal imbalance;
- skin damage;
- acne or oily seborrhea;
- metabolic disorders;
- excessive sun exposure.
The accumulation of fat and lack of proper personal hygiene leads to the proliferation of harmful bacteria and the development of disease.
Complications and consequences of the procedure
As a rule, laser removal of wen does not cause complications. Only in very rare cases, at the site of removal of large formations, a cavity may appear in which blood and serous fluid accumulate. To solve this problem, drainage is used.
To avoid negative consequences, the wound should not be wetted for a week. For a month you should avoid visiting the sauna and swimming pool, as well as sunbathing.
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