# Lipoma - Category: chronic - Review status: reviewed (every claim checked against a document named on this page) - Sources: ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) - condition scope only, no dose · Lipoma - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507906/ · No dose - no medicine is given for this in primary care - Verified date: 2026-08 ## Verified against - No dose - no medicine is given for this in primary care ## Treatment metadata - No drug therapy in primary care (Assessment & Advice) ## Complete treatment card ```text LIPOMA Sources: ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) - condition scope only, no dose · Lipoma - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507906/ · No dose - no medicine is given for this in primary care Review status: REVIEWED against the source listed above (2026-08) IS IT THIS? - reference only, to read alongside your own examination SYMPTOMS - what the patient reports (3) - A chest lipoma near the airway can cause breathing difficulty from bronchial blockage [breathlessness] - An oesophageal lipoma can cause obstruction, difficulty swallowing, regurgitation, vomiting, and reflux, with a risk of aspiration and repeat chest infections [difficulty swallowing · heartburn · regurgitation · vomiting] - Dercum disease causes multiple painful lipomas with overlying skin tingling, mainly in postmenopausal women [tingling] SIGNS - what you find (5) - A soft, painless, mobile lump under the skin, with no change to the overlying skin, is typical [skin nodule] - Sliding a finger off the tumour edge produces a characteristic slippage sign - Growth is usually slow, reaching a stable final size, though some exceed 10 cm as giant lipomas - The trunk, neck, forearms, and upper limbs are typical sites, since lipomas prefer fat-rich skin; the hands and feet are seldom involved - Cardiac lipomas sit mainly under the endocardium and appear as a yellow mass bulging into the heart chamber TESTS (4) - Typical lipomas are diagnosed clinically, with tissue sent for histology only after complete surgical removal - Imaging before surgery is considered for giant size, rapid growth, pain, fixation to nearby tissue, or a deep, thigh, or retroperitoneal location - Most lipomas under the skin need no imaging; ultrasound, MRI, or CT is used for lesions in an unusual location - Soft tissue x-ray can show the fat-density lesion but is only used when the clinical diagnosis is uncertain IF NOT THIS - what else fits (12) - Epidermoid cysts usually have a visible surface punctum; without one they can look identical to a lipoma - Hibernomas are rare, slow-growing brown-fat masses, 3 to 12 cm, in the mediastinum or between the shoulder blades - Angiolipomas are often tender, under 2 cm, well-defined, and typically on the forearm of a teen or young adult - Angiomyolipomas typically occur on the hands or feet of adult men - Liposarcomas are typically deep tumours in the retroperitoneum or, classically, the thigh - Proteus syndrome combines lipomas with epidermal naevi, haemangiomas, thickened cerebriform skin on the palms and soles, bony overgrowth, and scoliosis - Familial multiple lipomatosis presents around the 30s with hundreds of encapsulated lipomas, inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern - Madelung disease causes diffuse, symmetric, painless fatty swelling of the head, neck, and shoulders, mainly in middle-aged men who drink heavily - Gardner syndrome adds multiple lipomas or fibromas to colon polyps and cancers, skull/jaw osteomas, and extra teeth - MEN type 1 combines multiple lipomas with parathyroid, pituitary, and pancreatic tumours - Cowden syndrome pairs multiple lipomas with oral papillomas, facial trichilemmomas, and a raised cancer risk - Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome is a childhood form of Cowden syndrome with lipomas, intestinal hamartomas, genital freckling, a large head, and intellectual disability Source StatPearls "Lipoma" - disease-level clinical article Status traced to the source above 1. NO DRUG THERAPY IN PRIMARY CARE (ASSESSMENT & ADVICE) [1st line] Adult A common benign fatty tumour presenting as a soft, mobile, painless subcutaneous lump; usually diagnosed clinically and left alone unless large, symptomatic, or cosmetically bothersome, in which case referral for excision is offered. - Assessment and advice Peds Children follow the same pathway: assessment, explanation and follow-up. No primary-care medicine is implied. Source No dose - no medicine is given for this in primary care Why A common benign fatty tumour presenting as a soft, mobile, painless subcutaneous lump; usually diagnosed clinically and left alone unless large, symptomatic, or cosmetically bothersome, in which case referral for excision is offered. Caution No medicine is prescribed for this in primary care. The value of the consultation is recognition, explanation and follow-up, and referral if the red flags above appear. RED FLAG - Pain or overlying skin changes, and rapid growth, hardness, or fixation to underlying tissue, which are atypical features suggesting a malignant fatty tumour and warrant imaging or biopsy. Prices are indicative (dataset snapshot 2026-06); verify with the pharmacy. ``` --- Dawaa Reference is a reference for prescribers, not a medical device, and does not replace clinical judgement. [Privacy policy](/privacy)