Home > Laser surgery / Removal of tumors / Removal of lipomas > Laser removal of wen on the neck
Wen on the neck can cause a lot of inconvenience and should be removed. Not necessarily surgically: laser technologies are also suitable.
A lump on the neck, near the ear or throat, can not only spoil the appearance, but also cause a lot of inconvenience. If the location is unsuccessful, the lipoma can interfere with breathing. The risk of injury is also high due to the collar.
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Etiology of lipomatosis
The causes of lipomatosis are not yet reliably known. Scientists put forward at least two theories for the occurrence of lipomatosis, both of which are quite viable.
- According to the first theory, a person mechanically injures acne on the skin, which provokes a strong inflammatory process. That is, the duct of the sebaceous gland is blocked, a boil is formed, which, in turn, develops into a wen. This theory perfectly explains the reasons for the formation of a single lipoma, but does not explain the etiology of lipomatosis - multiple lipomas.
- The second theory for the appearance of lipomas is a violation of the biochemical process of fat metabolism, as a result of which the amount of adipose tissue increases. And the reasons for the violation of fat metabolism itself can be based on psychological and physiological stress (infectious diseases, hypothermia, climate change, etc.) In this case, it is important to fight the root cause of the disease, because even if the lipoma is effectively removed, reviews warn about the risk of relapse of the disease.
There is evidence that genetic factors play a significant role in the etiology of lipomatosis, but this theory does not yet have scientific evidence. Also, many scientists claim a relationship between lipomatosis and endocrine diseases and pancreatic pathologies. There is evidence of a hypothetical relationship between the formation of wen and alcoholism.
How does the procedure work?
Before any intervention, it is necessary to conduct tests that describe the full picture of the disease.
Examinations:
- general and clinical blood test;
- general urine analysis;
- ECG;
- blood for HIV, syphilis, hepatitis;
- instrumental diagnostics: ultrasound, CT, MRI are necessary to make a diagnosis. Checking vessels with numerous locations in the wen;
- biopsy in the presence of a lipoma on the mammary gland;
- Histology and cytology are needed to determine the benign quality of the formation. A sample is taken during surgery.
In the presence of infectious diseases, laser removal procedure is contraindicated. A period of complete recovery is expected and the intervention begins. It is necessary to do an allergy test for the anesthetic. The presence of a negative result makes it possible to carry out manipulation. If the tumor is located on the head, the area of the surgical field must be shaved.
Eating is contraindicated 4 hours before the procedure. Alcohol consumption is prohibited for 2 days. Smoking increases the risk of developing complications; it is worth giving up the bad habit for a certain time.
Types of lipomas
Types of lipomas | |||||
Classic | Combined | ||||
— | Fibrolipoma | Myolipoma | Angiolipoma | Myelolipoma | Maxolipoma |
Adipose tissue | Connective tissue | Muscle fibers | Vessels | Hematopoietic cells | Mucous tissue |
The composition of a lipoma can be determined histologically, when some of the cells from the neoplasm are taken for examination under a microscope.
The tumor can have both clear boundaries and blurred ones, when the wen smoothly transforms into normal adipose tissue. For a dermatologist, diagnosing a wen, as a rule, does not present any problems.
What does a wen look like?
Wen
Quite a large number of people suffer from a similar disease. It is not always possible to detect a lipoma on your body, since when it appears, it is small in size and does not cause any inconvenience. It looks like a pea under the skin. A fatty tumor can be located anywhere in the body where adipose tissue is present, even inside the abdomen. The wen looks like a small soft lump on the body with clear boundaries. If you press on such a pea, it can move painlessly. Over time, the lipoma increases in size, which bothers the person. It also has an unpleasant cosmetic appearance. (Read here )
Is lipoma dangerous?
Lipoma is a benign formation, but it can cause aesthetic discomfort, especially if the lipoma is large or requires removal of a lipoma on the neck; reviews indicate that most people want to get rid of the tumor.
The location of the lipoma is also of great importance. If it is located near a joint, it can affect the degree of its mobility. If there is proximity near a nerve ending, pain or numbness may occur.
Patients are often concerned about a natural question: can a benign formation turn into malignant? This is theoretically possible, but in practice it is extremely rare. In addition, there is always a risk of misdiagnosis when a malignant tumor is mistaken for benign.
Therefore, it is worth removing a lipoma for reasons of physical and emotional comfort, as well as to prevent the tumor from becoming malignant.
Indications for removal
Unlike epidermal cysts (atheromas), lipomas grow very slowly, so they may not cause inconvenience to the patient throughout his life. In such cases, doctors do not prescribe operations to remove lipomas, especially if they are located in closed areas of the body. If a small wen is located, for example, on the back, does not hurt, does not cause cosmetic or other discomfort, then it is better not to touch it at all. But there are direct indications for surgery.
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These include:
- the wen is larger than ten centimeters in size;
- the neoplasm leads to compression of blood vessels, adjacent tissues, and organs, leading to a deterioration in their functioning;
- the tumor has a long stalk, which is fraught with twisting and then tissue necrosis;
- the neoplasm is painful during palpation.
The patient can make an independent decision to remove a lump without medical indications if it occurs on the face, neck, or décolleté.
Tumors formed on the surface of internal organs must be removed.
Surgical removal of lipomas
The classic method of getting rid of lipomas is surgery. It is performed under local anesthesia, so the maximum discomfort the patient will experience in the surgeon’s office is the pain from an injection with an anesthetic.
The surgeon makes a small incision in the skin, gently squeezes out the wen and stitches the wound. If the lipoma is large, fluid may accumulate in the resulting cavity. In this case, it is advisable to install drainage. Removing lipomas surgically, reviews of which can be obtained from any doctor, has a significant drawback: the formation of scars. If the resection is carried out on the back or scalp, this problem is not significant, but to get rid of wen in the face it is better to choose another method.
Reviews from patients who have already undergone the procedure indicate that after surgery, swelling or swelling may occur at the removal site. As a rule, the rehabilitation period ends after 7-10 days. A person can return to everyday life immediately after surgery.
Treatment
The question of whether it is advisable to remove a lipoma can be answered after assessing its condition and having previously examined the internal organs.
Indications for removal
Single lipomas, as a rule, do not cause any trouble other than aesthetic discomfort. You should think about removing a lipoma if there is constant trauma, rapid growth, change in skin color, pain and mechanical compression of anatomical structures (nerves, lumen of blood vessels and bronchi).
Exploratory survey
After the initial examination, the doctor must conduct a biopsy of the formation and a histological examination of the punctate, and prescribe additional examinations (coagulogram, general and biochemical blood tests). In case of multiple lipomas, check using ultrasound and x-ray for the presence of lipomas in the chest and abdominal cavity (this is often observed with systemic lipomatosis).
Removal techniques
Diagram of tumor removal, number 1 is a lipoma, numbers 3, 4, 5 and 6 are a surgical device
Until recently, there was one way to get rid of wen - surgical removal of the formations. It allows you to radically remove the entire lipoma along with the capsule. Classic surgical removal is advisable in case of deep location, large size, germination of intermuscular fascia into the tissue, after relapse of the disease. If all aseptic measures are observed, this is a reliable and technically uncomplicated operation. Removal is carried out after local infiltration anesthesia. There are complications in the form of postoperative hematoma, wound infection, healing by secondary intention, and the formation of a keloid scar. The price for services depends on the level of the clinic.
A more modern technique is laser removal. A beam of a certain spectrum is used as a scalpel. The higher cost of removing tumors with a laser is justified by the maximum thinness of the incision and spherical coagulation of blood capillaries. Laser surgery occurs with minimal blood loss. Primary treatment of the surgical field is carried out; the surgeon uses a laser to cut the tissue above the lipoma layer by layer, then removes the entire tumor along with the capsule. At the same time, thermocoagulation of blood vessels occurs with a laser.
Loss of ability to work for up to 3 days, treatment is carried out on an outpatient basis or in a day hospital. If the operation to remove a benign tumor with a laser occurred safely, no complications arose, and virtually no marks will remain on the skin. Getting rid of wen with a laser will be painless and quick for you. Larger sizes increase the risk of incomplete removal of the capsule or infection of the wound; do not delay going to the doctor if you notice tumor growth.
Although this is a minimally invasive intervention, surgical removal of a lipoma with a laser cannot be performed in case of hemostasis disorders, coagulopathies, decompensated diabetes mellitus, pregnancy, or during menstruation. Although rare, hematomas or keloid scars can occur. After the laser excision procedure, an internal and external suture and an aseptic bandage are applied.
Liposuction is aspiration of wen tissue with an electric suction through a puncture with a thick needle. A suitable way to remove a small superficial lipoma. There is a high risk of re-growth of the formation if the membrane remains under the skin.
The radio wave method is the “evaporation” of lipocytes using radiomagnetic radiation. A bloodless and painless method to remove superficial lipoma, does not leave marks on the skin, and is suitable for high-quality cosmetic removal. It is superior to laser lipoma removal in terms of minimizing trauma and postoperative complications.
Take your health seriously. Take time and visit the doctor, ask all the questions that concern you. Lipoma can develop into liposarcoma, a malignant oncological disease that requires qualified diagnosis and immediate treatment. Be careful, don't miss valuable time!
Laser method
Removing lipomas with a laser is the most effective, safe and painless. The advantages of the method include:
- lack of blood;
- minimal risk of infection;
- absence of pain;
- absence of scars;
- Duration of the procedure is 1 minute.
The laser beam helps to remove the wen from the surrounding tissues and at the same time “seals” the capillaries. If the lipoma is large, the surgeon will need to close the wound.
The removed lipoma is sent for mandatory histological examination. But if the size of the formation is very small, the fat will be completely destroyed by the laser beam.
According to statistics, an increasing number of people are using laser lipoma removal. Reviews indicate painlessness and the absence of a rehabilitation period.
Radio wave method
Removing a lipoma using radio waves has the same advantages as laser removal: a person has the opportunity to get rid of a lipoma without pain, scars and bleeding. However, it is impossible to remove formations larger than 3 cm using this method.
The principle of the method is to separate the lipoma from the surrounding tissues with an invisible radio wave knife. At the same time, exposure to frequencies promotes rapid tissue regeneration. The doctor takes out the entire fat capsule and sends it for histological examination. At the site of removal, a small damage remains, resembling a scratch, which completely heals after a few days.
It is important to know that the presence of a pacemaker makes radio wave removal of a lipoma impossible. Feedback from patients indicates the high speed of the procedure and the ability to return to everyday life immediately after the procedure.
Incorrect methods for removing wen
On the Internet and low-quality women's magazines you can find many folk methods for removing wen - from compresses with vinegar or iodine to the use of “pus-pulling” ointments. Such therapy is extremely dangerous and is based on ignorance and complete misunderstanding of the very structure of this neoplasm. The contents of a lipoma are not pus or sebum, but dead epithelial cells. That is why extracting the contents of the wen using any external means at home is either useless or dangerous.
An even more dangerous way is to try to squeeze out a wen on your own, like a pimple. To do this, the wen is pierced with a needle, and large ones are even cut with a razor, otherwise the waxy contents simply will not come out. After this, pressure is applied to the skin around the tumor to completely remove its contents. However, with this method, some of the cells are “pressed” inward, and after some time the problem will arise again.
Why is this method dangerous? Here are just a few possible consequences
- Blood poisoning, despite the treatment of skin and instruments;
- The appearance of repeated neoplasms, since it is extremely difficult to squeeze out the entire contents of the wen on your own;
- Formation of a scar at the site of the wen;
- Necrosis of tissue around the extrusion site;
- Loss of vision if wen is squeezed out in the eye area.
How to choose a method?
The variety of lipoma removal methods creates a problem of choice for patients. Taking into account the symptoms of lipomatosis, every person understands the need for such a procedure as lipoma removal. Reviews and recommendations indicate the positive and negative sides of each method, so it is difficult to make a choice on your own.
The best and easiest way to make the right choice is to consult a dermatologist. He will inspect the formation, assess its location, size, concomitant diseases of the person and propose a treatment method that will be most suitable in his case.
However, choosing a doctor is an essential part of the success of the event. In this case, you can and should rely on people’s recommendations. For example, if you need lipoma removal in Moscow, reviews will provide significant assistance in making your choice.
Thus, lipomatosis is an unpleasant but not dangerous disease. Modern methods allow you to quickly and effectively deal with formations. A dermatologist will not only help you get rid of lipoma, but will also determine the cause of the problem, and therefore tell you how to avoid the formation of lipomas in the future.
In what cases is the procedure contraindicated?
Limitations to laser lipoma removal:
- herpetic infection;
- pregnancy, feeding;
- diabetes and menstruation;
- dysfunction of the immune system;
- infectious and inflammatory diseases;
- hypertension;
- disorders of the cardiac system;
- lipoma located next to large vessels.
Detection of a wen is a reason to consult a specialist. Timely diagnosis and treatment are the key to a comfortable life. The operation will eliminate the defect that interferes with life. Laser is an effective method. Recovery occurs within two weeks.
The article has been reviewed by the site editors