Lipoma of the mammary gland - causes and signs of lipoma of the mammary gland

Lipomas of the mammary gland are classified by their composition:

• Nodular lipoma is a formation with a capsule that has thick and dense walls.
• Diffuse lipoma is a growing fatty tissue that is not limited to the walls of the capsule.
• True lipoma is made up exclusively of fatty tissue and has a soft, loose structure.
• Fibrolipoma is a formation of fatty and connective tissue.

• Angiolipoma is a tumor with a developed network of capillaries inside.
• Myolipoma is a tumor with interweaving of muscle fibers.

Causes

The main causes of lipoma mammary gland are called:

• Violation of metabolic processes in the body, in particular fat and protein.
• Hormonal disruptions.
• Clogging of the sebaceous glands in the mammary gland.
• Slagging of the body.
• Heredity.

A mammary gland lipoma is the only tumor that is localized in places with a large fat layer. All other lipomas are localized where the fat layer is sparse.

Symptoms

A mammary gland lipoma manifests itself as a subcutaneous tumor that is easily palpated, but is absolutely painless. To the touch, a breast lipoma is quite soft and mobile.

• The skin in the area of the lipoma is not changed.
• If the lipoma is located around the nipple, it looks like a small whitish rash.
• As the lipoma increases in size, it leads to deformation of the breast, making it asymmetrical.
• A giant lipoma presses on tissues and blood vessels, which can cause discomfort, pain, and a feeling of distension in the chest.

Any of these symptoms should be a reason to make an appointment with a mammologist.

Diagnostics

When diagnosing a breast lipoma, you may need to consult a mammologist, gynecologist, surgeon, oncologist.

Since a small lipoma is asymptomatic, it is discovered accidentally during the diagnosis of other pathologies. Diagnosis of lipoma consists of a number of measures:

• visual examination;
• breast palpation;
• breast ultrasound;
• mammography or thermomammography;
• cytology;
• Ca 15-3 tumor marker.

Treatment

A small lipoma of the mammary gland is usually not treated or removed. Large lipomas are removed surgically. Surgical intervention is considered in the following cases:

• the tumor is rapidly increasing in size;
• the mammary gland is deformed;
• the lipoma causes discomfort and pain to the patient;
• the lipoma has caused gigantomastia (enlargement of the mammary gland);
• necrosis of the gland tissue occurs;
• the lipoma degenerates into a malignant tumor (liposarcoma).

Modern medicine uses one of the types of surgical intervention:

• the lipoma is excised along with the capsule through an incision in the skin;
• the lipoma is removed through punctures in the skin using an endoscope;
• by liposuction using lipoaspirator;
• by laser therapy - the most gentle operation among all listed.

Medicines are prescribed after the operation. The list of prescribed drugs includes:

• antiseptic agents for wound treatment;
• broad-spectrum antibiotics;
• vitamin-mineral complexes;
• homeopathic drugs.

Prevention

Women who have been diagnosed with a breast lipoma, as well as those who have undergone surgery to remove it, should regularly visit a mammologist, and also undergo:

• ultrasound of the mammary gland quarterly;
• mammography 2 times a year;
• tumor markers 2-3 times a year.