Anyone have lipoma on ribs or anywhere??

B123

So I have had this small area on top of rib on Left side since BMX. It has over the years, grown a bit more. It’s oval shaped and soft rubbery feel. Disappears when I lay down. My MO said it’s fat tissue. After doing my research online, because I’m freeking out, I see it’s called lipoma and harmless. Can anyone tell me how I can get rid of it, who to see and if anyone is dealing with same? Is it harmless, does this come from the implants

smc123

I don't think they have anything to do with your implants. I have small lipomas in several places on my body...my doctor was not worried at all. I begged for and was granted a CT. All turned out fine. Good luck:)

B123

smc123, thank you, why didn’t he want to remove them? I am going to try to get it removed. I am petrified it’s something more..

B123

also I read about using a lipoma roller or wand to get rid of it, has anyone heard of it?

MinusTwo

Here's a good definition. You can also read in Wiki. But looks like you are in the clear and should try to focus on something else.

https://www.healthline.com/health/skin/lumps

They're classified as benign growths, or tumors, of fatty tissue. This means a lipoma isn't cancerous and is rarely harmful.

Treatment for a lipoma usually isn't necessary unless it's bothering you.

HKflower

I had a lipoma on my ribs on my treated side appear very soon after my surgery. I thought it would be linked to the cording I experienced. Over the past three years lipomas have appeared over my body. Then I thought maybe it is a side effect of tamoxifen, All drs I I have seen have said they are nothing to worry about, no reasons given why appearing. Only the chest wall one has had an ultra scan done.

B123

Thanks Minustwo, I have not had any imaging on it recently. But I see it, and it worries me to see any kind of lump of any kind. Thanks for the link!

Hkflower, yes, same.. I thought from the BMX since it’s close to breast but on top of abdomen. Then thought from the meds..

SummerAngel

I have a lipoma on my arm. It's not visible, so I ignore it.

voraciousreader

i had two removed. One of them, in my pelvic area grew back and had to be removed again. The second one, most recently last year,was removed from my back in my ribs region. Flying home on a long plane flight, I thought my bra was digging into my back. Once home, I inspected my back, not easy of course, and noticed the lipoma protruding from my ribs. Having already had one, I knew immediately what it was. So....off to the plastic surgeon to remove a 4 cm lipoma. Anything over 3 cms they usually remove and biopsy. They also remove them when they are painful. So mine met both criteria.

if you are curious about removing them, on youtube you can witness them being removed. There is a whole bunch of videos posted by Dr. Pimple Popper and others showing their removal. Evidently, Dr. Pimple Popper has her own show. I can’t even imagine who in their right mind would want to watch one of the videos or for that matter her show. I watched two minutes of one of Dr. Pimple Popper’s removals of a lipoma and that was enough for me...

SummerAngel

Voraciousreader, I'm one of those people! I love that show. (Yes, I'm odd. ) I've always been fascinated by medical procedures. My mom is an RN and was a surgical nurse for a while. I used to look through all of her medical textbooks when I was a child.

B123

summer angel, did you know what it was right away? Did it start small? You say your mama is a surgical nurse, that’s awesome! Lucky you that she can help keep an eye on it.

Voraciousreader your pelvic area?? Ouch! And your back.. again ouch! So how did you know what it was originally? Can it be removed in the office diring an office visit? I will def have to put YouTube on and watch! Thank you

AliceBastable

I had a lipoma on my neck, under my jaw, and when it got to the point of looking really ugly (and starting to press against nerves), I had it removed. When it was first noticeable, I had gone to my then-primary doctor about it. He had no idea what it was, ordered a CT scan, and referred me to an endocrinologist, who also didn't know what it was, but said we'd take a watch & wait approach. So it slowly got bigger, and bigger, and ugly bigger. I had switched doctors (insurance change) and finally asked my new doctor, who also had no idea, but she sent me to an ear-nose-throat doctor. At that appointment, he walked in and said right away, "That's some lipoma you've got there!" Shit, all those years of doctors not knowing and I could have gone to a vet since my dog had lipomas all the time! The ENT guy did the surgery to remove it, and a bonus was that my blood pressure numbers improved - it must have been pressing on more than a nerve.

So if you have one and it's bothering you, I guess ask your primary for a referral to whoever handles that body part, or perhaps a general surgeon if it's an uncomplicated location.

B123

alicebastable that’s crazy! How can none of them know what it was, even after a CT scan? Is it not detectable on the scans? I’m glad it was taken care of for you. I made an appt with a dermatologist, hoping it’s the right route and is taken care of right away in office. It’s top abdomen, I noticed it a long time ago but recently a bit bigger. My scare was it was something more.

Laurencl

I have had one on my back thigh for years. After the PTSD of cancer (diagnosis, chemo, mastectomy, radiation) in 2019, I got concerned about the lipoma too. Just had an ultrasound done, said it was a lipoma. Was told you can have them all over. I think dealing with cancers is scary and we start to worry about everything

AliceBastable

I don't know why mine was so hard to diagnose. Maybe they just show up as a dense blob on scans. It was about the size of an egg by the time I got rid of it. The ENT doctor did say it was an unusual location, so that may be why all the others were puzzled.

voraciousreader

summer...my beloved mother was also a nurse and, as a child, I also would spy her textbooks!

B....I knew the first one was a lipoma because when I had annual gyno exams it was noticable and the doctor would tell me each year, “You know, you have a lipoma down here.” I could feel it, but just like the one on my back, it wasn’t that easy to see. A number of years went by until one year the doctor said, “Time to get that sucker out.” Believe me, those were his exact words... it was a bummer to have to have it removed twice...that said...there are worse things....

runor

I have had a phantom lump on my ribs, below my bad boob, and I'm pretty sure mine is lymphedema. While it feels like a lump, a nob, a blubber, it seems to flare or fade as other lymphedema symptoms come and go. It is generally worst at the end of the day, after the underwire in my bra has been digging into me. It seems the fluid pools and collects right over that rib in this oval shaped puddle. What makes me think mine is lymphedema and not lipoma is that I can, over the course of a few days, massage mine away. Well, mostly away. It never entirely goes away.

It does indeed sound like you're describing a lipoma. But be aware that lymphedema is not restricted to your arm, it can be brought on by a constrictive bra or jarring physical activity, but can feel and act like a lump. 

B123

laurencl, PTSD is a very good way of putting it, so true! I don’t think we can get passed it. Glad you had the ultrasound done. Are you removing it? Was it slow growing?

B123

Alice, Glad you got rid of it. And glad an ENT figured it out!

Voracious, I’m surprised you had it for so long. But at least you knew what it was all along. That’s funny about the doctor, he’s right! I have had mine for years but recently noticed it’s a bit larger. I hate having anything like this, I just want to get it out right away..

B123

Runor, I never even thought about lymphadema? How can that be? It’s an oval shape squish pocket, almost rubbery but when I lay down or stretch, disappears. Doesn’t lymphadema just swell the area? Mine is too ribs under bra line (top abdomen).

B123

have any of you used a wand to remove it?

runor

B123, lymphedema is fluid that can flood any tissues. Gravity pools fluid and I can't say why for sure, but mine collects on that rib, right under my bra wire. By the end of the day it is uncomfortable! On bad days it's annoying all the time.  It feels squishy and rubbery, as you say. But if I massage it outward (toward my side) over a few days it will get better. But it takes some time. That would be a way to find out if it's lymphedema or something else. If nightly massaging it,  getting the fluid to flow out makes it better, makes it smaller, then you know it's lymphedema. If nothing you do gets rid of it, then you know it's likley what you think it is. But I did freak out htinking, oh my god, I have a lump. Yes. But a lump that I could work away if I paid attention and took the time to do so. 

Alicethecat2

Hello B123

I had a lipoma on my knee. It arrived during Herceptin treatment. My onological nurse said when the body doesn't like something, it tries to get rid of it. If it can't, it tries to wall it off as far as it can from vital organs.

This fitted my particular case as it turned out I was allergic to Herceptin and had to have Piriton, an antihistamine, in the drip before treatment in order to tolerate it!

My GP referred me to a specialist GP who cut it out under local anaesthetic and sent it off for testing. No cancer. It was a lipoma.

Hope yours turns out to be something like this. For my own peace of mind, I had to have it taken out - but everyone is different of course.

Good luck!

Alice

B123

runor, that makes sense, I can push it out but it does start to hurt when i do play with it like that. Definitely not hard, and def movable. So you never had it drained or removed? I can see it if I am in a bra just standing in front of mirror. I will try the massaging outward and see if it gets smaller. Thanks!

Alicethecat, wow that’s amazing. I don’t understand how that can form from an allergic reaction. Was it same, rubbery feel? So a specialized GP removed in the office during a visit? I’m with you, I need it out! I can’t sleep at night, makes me crazy nervous. Glad yours turned out to be fine!

Alicethecat2

Hello B123

Mine was rubbery and oval - just like yours - and on the knee. I was fortunate that a specialist GP surgery took it out and I didn't have to pay for it back in 2012.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/lipoma/

Hoping you can find a specialist primary care doc who can cut it out for you, if he or she agrees.

Alice x

SummerAngel

Just coming back to the thread. "did you know what it was right away? Did it start small?" I suspected it was a lipoma because of the rubbery feel of it and the ability to move it around. My mom took a look and confirmed it. It started very small, pea-sized, and now (about 20 years later) it's still only about the size of a nickel. Lipomas can stay the same for years and suddenly start growing, so I figure I'll get it removed if it does that.

B123

I never really knew what it was when started. Years ago it was there but small, still oval, I though from the BMX. Never really got bigger until lately.

L-O-R-I

I have numerous lipomas on my body. So do some of my relatives. I believe it is hereditary. I went to my family Dr. as a teenager and he looked at the one on my shoulder blade (size of a quarter and like a half ball). He said that you wont die from it, but you will die with it. Since then, I have had many more smaller ones appear. I have at least 4 on my ribs, 2 in each forearm, one on my right butt cheek, 3 or 4 on my thighs, etc. When I was having one of my breast Ultrasounds, the radiologist came in to do a quick look for herself, after the tech. was done, and she pointed out to me that I had a lipoma in my right breast. I don't let them bother me. The ones on my ribs are more tender than the other ones, but I just ignore them. They are only the size of a pea and below my underwire. Not fun, but there are so many bigger problems we are facing, I don't want to worry about that one too. )

B123

ok I just read this about lymphoma! I am sinking into a hole right now. How do you know the difference?

One symptom of lymphoma can be the development of lumps under the skin, usually in the neck, armpit, or groin. The lumps have a rubbery feel and are usually painless. ... But when lymph nodes swell without an infection present, lymphoma can be one of the causes.Jun 17, 2019

MinusTwo

B-123 - STOP reading. STOP searching. You are making yourself sick with worry.

Try to listen to all the people who have told you this is not likely a problem.

I don't want to go back & read everything you've posted on several threads, so I apologize if I'm recommending something you've already done. Make an appointment with your doc. I would start with my dermatologist because I trust her - but it could by GYN or MO.

STOP GOOGLING

B123

Minustwo, Wow, ok sorry.