Lipoma

Providers usually diagnose a lipoma during a physical examination. Your provider will touch the lipoma and ask if it’s painful or tender. You may need a biopsy to confirm that the lipoma isn’t cancer. During this procedure, your provider removes a sample of the lipoma and sends it to a lab for testing.

Oftentimes, these may be mistaken for a cyst. To see a clear picture of this lump, your provider may order an imaging test such as an ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, or computed tomography (CT) scan. These imaging studies help your provider determine if it is a lipoma versus a cyst. It can also help identify the lipoma’s location and how deep it is if it has blood vessels and whether it’s pressing against nerves or other tissues.

What are the types of lipomas?

All lipomas are made of fat. Some lipomas also contain blood vessels or other tissues. There are several types of lipomas, including:

• Angiolipoma: This type contains fat and blood vessels. Angiolipomas are often painful.
• Conventional: The most common type, a conventional lipoma contains white fat cells. White fat cells store energy.
• Fibrolipoma: Fat and fibrous tissue make up this type of lipoma.
• Hibernoma: This kind of lipoma contains brown fat. Most other lipomas contain white fat. Brown fat cells generate heat and help regulate body temperature.
• Myelolipoma: These lipomas contain fat and tissues that produce blood cells.
• Spindle cell: The fat cells in these lipomas are longer than they are wide.
• Pleomorphic: These lipomas have fat cells of various sizes and shapes.