What is Lipoma? How to get rid of sebaceous gland?

by Abbas Jahangir · June 22, 2024

The sebaceous gland, defined as lipoma, is a condition characterized by the excessive growth of fat cells under the skin. Fat glands, which are classified as benign formations, can be treated in some people due to pain or cosmetic concerns. Fat glands can occur in any part of the body and are usually detected in the shoulder, chest, trunk, neck, thigh and armpit areas. In rare cases, lipoma development may also occur in bones, muscles and internal organs.

What is Oil Gland?

Fat gland is a tumor of fat cells called adipocytes under the skin in the form of a soft and painless nodule. These structures, which vary in size from 1 to 10 centimeters and can form in any area where normal fat cells are found, have a fibrous capsule on their outer parts. Caution should be exercised as their multiple occurrence may indicate some syndromic disorders.

Small sebaceous glands, which are among the most common benign formations in the human body, are detected slightly more frequently in men than in women. These structures can appear at any age, and the most common period in which they form is between the ages of 40 and 60.

What are the Types of Oil Glands?

Oil glands are soft and mobile formations when pressed. Fat glands, which continue to grow over a period of months to years, generally reach a size of 2-3 centimeters. Fat glands on the skin, which can grow up to 10 centimeters in some people, are referred to as giant lipomas.

All types of sebaceous glands consist of fat cells. Some types of these formations may also include structures belonging to other tissues of the body, such as blood vessels. The types of glands that appear in the body and their characteristics can be briefly summarized as follows:

angiolipoma

If the sebaceous gland hurts, one of the diagnoses that may come to mind is angiolipoma. This type of sebaceous gland, consisting of fat and blood vessels, is usually quite painful.

Conventional (Classic) Oil gland

These structures, which are the most common type of sebaceous gland, contain white energy-storing fat cells.

Fibrolipoma

Types of sebaceous glands consisting of fat and fibrous connective tissue are called fibrolipoma.

hibernoma

This type of sebaceous gland originates from brown fat cells that are responsible for maintaining body temperature.

myelolipoma

Myelolipomas are sebaceous glands that contain both fat cells and blood-producing cells.

Spindle Cell Fat Gland

Spindle cell sebaceous glands, unlike other sebaceous glands, are formations that tend to grow longitudinally rather than round in shape.

Pleomorphic Fat Gland

This type of sebaceous gland consists of fat cells of varying size and shape.

What are the symptoms of sebaceous glands?

The symptoms that occur with sebaceous gland development include features that are very characteristic of these structures:

Feeling soft to the touch
It is mobile when gently pressed on the edge with your finger.
Located just under the skin
Being colorless
slow growth

Although sebaceous glands often occur in the neck, upper or front part of the arm and thigh areas, they can also be detected in the abdomen and back areas. A feeling of pain may develop when the nerve under the sebaceous glands puts pressure on the tissue. The type of sebaceous gland called angiolipoma causes quite intense pain compared to the classical sebaceous glands.

Apart from these symptoms, complaints that occur in the presence of a sebaceous gland may vary depending on the region where the formation is located and the size of the gland. Fat glands near the bronchi can put pressure on these lung structures, causing breathing problems, or fat glands around the esophagus can cause other complaints such as difficulty swallowing, vomiting or reflux.

What causes sebaceous glands?

The reason for the formation of sebaceous glands in the body has not been fully elucidated. However, some genetic events may lead to the formation of multiple sebaceous glands, and having a family history of lipoma formation is an additional risk factor in these people.

There are many different conditions that may increase the risk of sebaceous gland formation:

Adiposis dolorosa (Dercum’s Disease)
Cowden syndrome
Gardner syndrome
Madelung’s disease
Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome

Dercum’s disease is a disease characterized by painful oil glands on the arms, legs and trunk. In Gardner syndrome, in addition to the formation of glands under the skin, adenomatous polyp development also occurs in the digestive tract. Madelung disease is most commonly detected in men who consume excessive amounts of alcohol; The disease is characterized by the formation of fatty glands around the neck and shoulders.

Apart from these genetic disorders, some risk factors may also answer the question “why do oil glands appear?”:

Being between 40-60 years old
Obesity
high cholesterol
Diabetes
Insulin resistance and diabetes
liver disease

The formation of more than one sebaceous gland is detected in 5-10% of individuals affected by familial inherited syndromes. In oil glands that form as a single lesion, the relevant gene region may be located on chromosome 12. At the same time, an increase in the formation of sebaceous glands in the body has been detected after the use of antiviral drugs in the protease inhibitor class used in the treatment of HIV.

How is Sebaceous Diagnosis?

After applying to health institutions with the complaint of a fatty gland on the skin, physicians can usually diagnose lipoma only by physical examination methods. In some cases, physicians may perform a biopsy to obtain a tissue sample from the gland using a small needle. The main purpose of this examination is to differentiate the existing formation from cancerous formations together with laboratory examinations.

Apart from the biopsy process, if abnormal features of the sebaceous gland are detected, radiological examinations such as ultrasonography, x-ray, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computerized tomography (CT) may be used for further examination.

How is Fat Gland Surgery Performed?

The answer to the question of how to get rid of the sebaceous gland can be given by “surgical intervention”. If various factors are present in the usually harmless fat glands, resection (removal) or in other words lipoma surgery can be performed:

Detection of cancerous features
Fast growing
Pain and discomfort
Disrupting normal body functions
cosmetic anxiety

In addition to these factors, if the person with sebaceous glands has been diagnosed with skin cancer in his or her family’s medical history, or if there are multiple sebaceous glands, lipoma treatment, also known as sebaceous gland removal, may be considered by physicians. It should not be forgotten that even if some sebaceous glands are surgically removed, they may reoccur after a while.

In sebaceous gland surgery, the operator makes a small incision on the skin and aims to squeeze the sebaceous gland from its lower part and remove it through this opening. Fat gland squeezing is usually done under local anesthesia, and people can usually be discharged the same day the procedure takes place. Larger incisions may be necessary for large oil glands. In some types of lipomas, vacuum tools known as liposuction can be used to clean the formation.

In the first stage of liposuction to treat the sebaceous gland, a thin tube is inserted through the opening on the skin. Then, with this tube, fat-like substances can be absorbed and the sebaceous gland can be removed from the body. The tissue removed after sebaceous gland surgery is usually sent to the laboratory for examination under a microscope. In addition to these applications, injection of steroids into the relevant area as part of the solution for the sebaceous glands can shrink these structures.

Oil glands are harmless and benign formations, but the point that needs to be taken into consideration is; They have a very similar appearance to liposarcomas, which are among the rare types of cancer. If there is an increase in the degree of pain related to the existing sebaceous gland, a rapid increase in the size of the sebaceous gland, an increase in temperature in the relevant skin area, the sebaceous gland becomes hard or immobile, or if you detect any difference in the surrounding skin, you should consult a health institution and seek support from specialist physicians. recommended.