Fatty growth tumors sometimes run in families

By Dr. Paul G. Donohue

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am 84 years old. I had my first fatty tumor when I was 11. Through the years, I have had many, many removed, and I continue to get more. I have learned to live with this condition. I have children and grandchildren who are concerned that they have inherited this affliction. My mother and father had fatty tumors, and my brother and sister had a few. Is this passed to children? — M.S. A: Those fatty tumors are lipomas, noncancerous growths of fat cells that spring up under the skin and range from golf-ball to tennis-ball size or larger. They can spring up anywhere, but they most often are found on the trunk, neck, forearms and under the arms. They’re soft and rarely painful. People might have a single lipoma or many of them.

In some cases, they are a family affair, and your family appears to be an example. A gene passed from an affected parent leads to lipomas in half the children of that parent.

If lipomas interfere with movement, hurt or are unsightly, they can be surgically removed. Some doctors have suctioned off the fat with a syringe and needle, similar to liposuction. Others have injected them with cortisone or deoxycholate.

If a lipoma grows rapidly, a doctor should inspect it. Infrequently, this kind of growth can be a liposarcoma, a cancer. This shouldn’t scare you. I mention it only for completeness. Liposarcomas are seldom seen.

c. North America Syndicate