Lipomas

Lipomas are benign fatty growths under the skin: soft, well defined, and surrounded by a connective tissue capsule. They can be small or several centimeters in size, occur singly or in large numbers, and in individual cases are slightly tender to pressure because nerve fibers have grown into them.

Lipomas are harmless but can be mechanically or cosmetically bothersome. In that case, there are three treatment options:

1. Surgery: Under local anesthesia, the lipoma is shelled out, capsule and all, through a skin incision. The disadvantage: a scar remains.
2. Liposuction: Under local anesthesia, fluid is injected into the tissue and the lipoma is suctioned out with a large cannula. Apart from the puncture site, no scar remains.
3. Injection lipolysis (“fat-away injection”): The gentlest procedure. A harmless fat-dissolving substance – phosphatidylcholine, derived from the soy plant and at the same time a normal building block of our own cell membranes – is injected into the growth with a fine cannula. It has also been used therapeutically for many years against fat embolisms and in severe liver disease.

Treatment with injection lipolysis is very low-risk; no serious side effects are known worldwide. It causes a burning sensation in the lipoma, which becomes slightly red and warm; bruising is possible. Avoid aspirin and other blood thinners for a few days beforehand, and alcohol the evening before. Within a few weeks, the lipoma visibly shrinks – the capsule remains, but the bulging fatty tissue dissolves effectively.

Mechanism of Action

The presumed mechanism: injected into fatty tissue, the lecithin in phosphatidylcholine loads up with fatty acids and transports them out of the fat cell; the fat particles are carried away via the body’s own lymphatic system – an amplification of natural processes.

Treatment

An outpatient session takes about 15 to 30 minutes. For optimal results, the treatment should be repeated at least 2–3 times or more at intervals of about 6–8 weeks. Anesthesia is usually not necessary; a little anesthetic can be added to the injection, and cooling also helps. Any slightly darker pigmentation over the former lipoma fades on its own.

Contraindications

Treatment is not performed on pregnant women, nursing mothers, children, or patients with diabetes, vascular disease, autoimmune disease, liver disease, acute or chronic infections, kidney disease, coagulation disorders, allergies, severe obesity, or known hypersensitivity to any of the ingredients (e.g., soy allergy).