The discovery of fat lumps on the back causes concern in the person who finds them. Sometimes not just one is produced, but is accompanied by other smaller lumps, and that alerts even more.
However, it is important to establish a differential diagnosis of the lesion. That is, although it looks like a fat lump, it may be another pathology, such as a sebaceous cyst or a boil.
Although it is true that fat is the most frequent cause of this symptom, it does not hurt to make a medical consultation to establish what it really is. Sometimes a clinical examination alone is sufficient to determine the origin of the lump, without the need for further studies.
Specifically, a buildup of fat on the skin is called a lipoma. The name refers to its conformation, which consists of adipocytes – cells with lipids.
Lipomas are not malignant, and are generally limited to a size that does not affect other structures in the body. However, there are entities such as the giant lipoma and internal lipomas, which can lead to unexpected complications, to the point of interrupting the functioning of other organs.
Differential Diagnosis for Fat Lumps
As we anticipated, the existence of a lump of fat on the back requires a differential diagnosis. We have to assess whether we are dealing with a lipoma or another skin lesion with similar symptoms. Next, we detail the three most frequent ones.
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