Lipoma

[FIYes]

Anyone had a lipoma? Did you have it removed?

I am always nervous about any sort of medical procedure so I thought that would see what the group here has to report.

The lipoma is large enough that it is noticeable. It is not painful but I do notice it when I roll over on my side...it is on the side of my rib cage.

My thought for having it removed are...it won’t go away on its own. If it should ever need to be removed then I need to remember that I won’t be younger and stronger a few years from now. It would stop me from being a little concerned about it. Also, I am not going anywhere right now so it won’t interfere with a scheduled trip.

My thought for leaving it alone is I can avoid surgery. The tumor is large enough that it will take more than local anesthesia. The term used was conscious sedation.

What should I consider? What are good questions to ask? I tend to freeze up and say nothing when I get to a doctor.

 

[Bamaman]

Don't you watch The Pimple Popper on television? Lipoma's don't go away. They just get bigger.

Worst part about having it removed will be a quick stick of the IV.

Do it now.

 

[Boho]

I have one (self diagnosed), I think in the same place. Kind of between my belly and ribs, on my right side. It's over 2" in diameter, which I read is the size that warrants a biopsy.

I don't know the difference between local anesthesia and conscious sedation but I'll be looking it up. I do know that there's sometimes a difference of opinion whether you should have it done in a hospital or whether you can have it done with local anesthesia by someone like Youtube's Dr. Pimple Popper. If you get another opinion it's possible you'll be told they could try a local.

I'll be going to a new dentist probably in the not too distant future and I was thinking of posting here to ask if I'd need to disclose a medical situation like this.

 

[Gumby]

I had one on the rib cage, slightly above nipple level. When it started to interfere with the movement of my arm, I had it removed. I was about 51 at the time. It was a relatively simple and quick surgery. They used propofol for the anesthesia. When I was done, I was able to walk home from the hospital. Although they gave me an opioid prescription, I didn't need it. Within a week after the surgery, I climbed Mount Washington. It healed well and all I have left is a faint scar about an inch long.

 

[Exchme]

I had a couple of them removed at a dermatologist. They are a benign form of tumor so will grow if not removed. Removal was a very minor procedure, local anesthesia. One was along the belt line so the stitches started to get sore and I had to get some antibiotic cream, but that was the worst part. The dermatologist wanted $500 just to walk in the door for each one, even though it would be covered by insurance, then had to get them to refund after the fact. There will also a bill for several hundred dollars from the pathology lab to ensure it really was just a lipoma.

 

[Aerides]

I don't know the difference between local anesthesia and conscious sedation but I'll be looking it up.

Local anesthesia is like when you get novacaine at the dentist for a simple filling (which ok so now I know you won't know that, but everyone else....) It's a shot that numbs you, for a few hours, tops, just in the rough area. Zero sedation.

 

[Boho]

Local anesthesia is like when you get novacaine at the dentist for a simple filling (which ok so now I know you won't know that, but everyone else....) It's a shot that numbs you, for a few hours, tops, just in the rough area. Zero sedation.

That much I know. I just wasn't sure about conscious sedation.

I wouldn't want the type where you have to be reminded to breathe because you have no breathing reflex. And I don't want to experience being intubated.

 

[Jerry1]

That much I know. I just wasn't sure about conscious sedation.

That’s what they did for my colonoscopy. Didn’t seem like there was anything conscious about it. I was out. I do think it’s easier on the body though than full on knock you out cold anesthesia.

 

[braumeister]

If it bothers you, have it removed. It's only a minor procedure, so nothing to worry about. Otherwise, no need to do anything. But certainly mention it to your doctor on your next visit.

 

[MRG]

That’s what they did for my colonoscopy. Didn’t seem like there was anything conscious about it. I was out. I do think it’s easier on the body though than full on knock you out cold anesthesia.

Depending on what they use and your reaction it can be only partway out or way out. When they did my eyelids they brought me back up for a minute to show the surgeon how my eyelids fit together. After he did that I heard snip, snip, snip as he cut off parts of my eyelids. No pain, no anxiety. I kinda thought it was funny.

 

[FIYes]

I kind of wonder if will be similar to the anesthesia I had for a colonoscopy. The anesthesia didn’t bother me at all.

Gumby what you had sounds similar to mine except mine is on the side of my rib cage

 

[Aerides]

That much I know. I just wasn't sure about conscious sedation.

I wouldn't want the type where you have to be reminded to breathe because you have no breathing reflex. And I don't want to experience being intubated.

Something would have to go terribly horribly wrong to be intubated for something like this. Quite outside the range of reasonable expectations for a moderately healthy person and a moderately competent surgical team.

Propofol/colonoscopy type sedation means you're basically on a drip, and as soon as the drip is removed you wake up. You're asleep, and then you're not, like you took a nap. You feel back to almost completely normal within the hour.

Vs. traditional sedation which is deeper and longer. You might have been in post-op recovery for a half hour or so before you wake up. You're groggy after, for pretty much the rest of the day.

 

[Scrapr]

I didn't know it was called lipoma. I had one removed on my back shoulder a few years ago. In the exam room not a surgical suite. They numbed the area & incised it out. Doc & a nurse with my wife standing by foe emotional support. It was golf ball size. No issues before or since. It was starting to show through my clothes so my wife prodded me to get it removed

 

[bolt]

#1) This is not medical advice.

I'd suggest discussing cauterization of spot after its removal.
A local anestic is common for a removal & cauterization.
Thats all I can share. Discuss-it w/MD.

Good luck & Best wishes....

 

[Boho]

The possible need to cauterize blood vessels and the bleeding inhibitor chemical that's in the lidocaine are two reasons you shouldn't remove the lipoma yourself. Not that I was ever considering doing that, but I like to cover all bases with my research.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Something would have to go terribly horribly wrong to be intubated for something like this. Quite outside the range of reasonable expectations for a moderately healthy person and a moderately competent surgical team.

Propofol/colonoscopy type sedation means you're basically on a drip, and as soon as the drip is removed you wake up. You're asleep, and then you're not, like you took a nap. You feel back to almost completely normal within the hour.

Vs. traditional sedation which is deeper and longer. You might have been in post-op recovery for a half hour or so before you wake up. You're groggy after, for pretty much the rest of the day.

Agreed, I had Propofol for my first colonoscopy in January this year and it truly is an amazing drug, I woke up so alert and refreshed and felt like I'd slept for days. I can understand why Micheal Jackson used it, I have never felt so well rested in my life. 2nd colonoscopy in October was with a different doctor and different location it was hard to wake up and I was sluggish and miserable the rest of the day. A few years back I had nasal surgery and that was the worst ever. Apparently they used to pack the nose with cocaine I think to stop the bleeding. After surgery, they couldn't wake me up, I was having something called PVC's and even though I was unconscious, I could hear the nurses whispering that the cocaine probably caused it. Internally I'm screaming no I don't do drugs, it was the scariest thing ever. Eventually I woke up and they let me son come in, he was a paramedic and I could see he'd been crying and I knew I was in trouble then. He took one look at the monitors and insisted they send me to the hospital until my heart got back to normal a few hours later.

 

[Boho]

A few years back I had nasal surgery and that was the worst ever. Apparently they used to pack the nose with cocaine I think to stop the bleeding.

If that was in the US, I'm surprised cocaine was used only "a few years back" unless you mean like 60 years back. I think they used to use cocaine to shrink turbinates, which is another thing I could use.

A few years back they used to pack the nose after turbinate reduction surgery, which was extremely uncomfortable for a lot of people. So much so that they stopped doing it. I'm glad I didn't rush to get turbinate reduction surgery as soon as I determined my right turbinate was too large because they might have packed it. And at some point, before the discovery of empty nose syndrome, surgeons were too liberal with their knives.

 

[FDC319]

I had one on the back of my head. I had it removed. Honestly it wouldn't have bothered me if I wasn't in the Army and had short hair. Really simple local anesthetic procedure with a few stitches.


Not a doctor, but they can get complicated. I spent the night in a military hospital a couple years ago recovering from wrist surgery. At about midnight they wheeled in a roommate who had a lipoma removed from the inside of his leg. It was somewhat complicated as it had grown around several nerves and blood vessels. Apparently he had to bounce around to a couple of doctors until he found someone willing to tackle it.

 

[swakyaby]

For a large lipoma removal, conscious sedation is a combination of a light sedative and local anesthesia. The procedure is often done in the doctor’s own office with monitors and a sedation nurse, or in an outpatient surgical operating room facility. Basically you’re placed on a padded table or guerney, an IV is started, positioned on your side, monitors placed (BP cuff, pulse oximeter, EKG leads), and a mild sedative is placed in your IV. The nurse cleanses your skin around the lipoma. You start feeling a little tipsy as the sedative sets in when the surgeon says I’m going to put in some local anesthesia and it might sting a few seconds. But most of the time, you don’t even remember that because the sedation makes you lose track of time, place, and even that surgery took place.

The other type of sedation is deep or unconscious sedation, often given by an anesthesiologist. It’s typically reserved for those lipomas that could be very deep and possibly uncomfortable, or extremely anxious patients who thrash around at the slightest stimulation, or people with dementia, for instance.

Beyond deep sedation is general anesthesia, the type where the airway/breathing must be supported. Not a consideration for your surgery.

As far as questions, during the initial consult, the surgeon will explain the procedure, risks and benefits, the alternatives to surgery, and typical post op course and follow up. It will be described in simple laymen’s terms and in a manner to not frighten you. I have found that many people do become anxious, and blank out not only on any questions, but also much of the information given. That’s why it’s good to bring a spouse or significant other to listen in. For a procedure this straight forward, though, there are not many questions people ask.

Hope this helps.

 

[swakyaby]

Vs. traditional sedation which is deeper and longer. You might have been in post-op recovery for a half hour or so before you wake up. You're groggy after, for pretty much the rest of the day.

Your description of “traditional sedation” sounds more like general anesthesia with respect to prolonged post-op grogginess.

 

[Exchme]

Unless the Dr. says it's a more complicated surgery and recommends a more complicated treatment, it's some cream to numb the spot for the shots. Then shots around the lipoma to numb you just like the dentist. Wait 15 minutes for the numbing, and 10 minutes of cutting and sewing and you're done. Come back in 10 days to get the external stitches out (the internal ones dissolve). Get it removed while it is still just that minor!

 

[FIYes]

Swakaby, thanks for your description.

Yes, I recognize that I need to go ahead and get this done. I am scheduled for a call next week to discuss my options. I know that I will never be younger and healthier and the lipoma will never be smaller so this is the time to go ahead and get it done.

Also, I don’t have any travel scheduled right now that this would interfere with. Once travel is okay to do again, I want to make up for this lost year of travel

 

[Boho]

Yes, I recognize that I need to go ahead and get this done. I am scheduled for a call next week to discuss my options.

You didn't mention how big it is or how much it bothers you. I think it's recommended to leave it alone if a biopsy shows it to be benign, though sometimes it's completely removed before testing which I think could be also OK. Sometimes the scar is worse than the bump. Dr. Pimple Popper once said she has a lipoma but won't have it removed because she doesn't want the scar.

Liposuction is an option and won't leave a scar.

 

[Gumby]

You should be proud of all your scars, for the story of your life is told in them.

 

[aja8888]

You should be proud of all your scars, for the story of your life is told in them.

Enlightening statement!

I never thought about scars as a story of my life. I could write a short novel about mine, which include, from memory, (best I can recall) seven scars from surgeries related to a very bad car accident, three scars from the replacement (with titanium and synthetic materials) of worn out moving body parts and repair of broken bones, and two very small ones from the removal of minor irritations and sperm producing equipment.

But who would read the book?