Lumps Under The Skin—Cyst Or Lipoma?

Dr. Andrea Suarez, dermatologist, shares her professional knowledge with us:

Cystn’t

First things first: lipomas and epidermoid (sebaceous*) cysts are benign, non-cancerous, and not dangerous, even though they can be annoying or uncomfortable.

^{*This is their most common name, but it’s misleading, as they are not sebaceous, but rather keratinous, i.e. they are not filled with sebum, but keratin.}

With that in mind…

• What a lipoma is: a slow-growing, benign tumor of mature fat cells that sits below the skin, feels firm and rubbery, is usually painless, and shows no change on the skin surface. Further, they’re movable under the skin, don’t rupture or burst, can grow from about 1 to 10 cm, and don’t cause inflammation or scarring on their own.
• What an epidermoid cyst is: a cyst arising from a hair follicle or pore that contains keratin, feels fixed in the skin, and is usually same color as your skin, but with a visible punctum (small opening). It’s usually smaller than a lipoma (often 1–2 cm), may ooze foul-smelling, cheesy material when squeezed, and can resemble a large blackhead on the face.

While neither are dangerous per se, cysts to present more potential problems, especially their rupture risk—unlike lipomas, epidermoid cysts can rupture, especially if squeezed, leading to inflammation, scarring, and a higher risk of infection.

If you’re the sort of person who’s tempted to pop such things, then do be aware that popping a cyst doesn’t cure it, and in fact it encourages recurrence, makes surgical removal harder due to scar tissue, and can require antibiotics if infection develops. So please don’t do that.

So, what can be done?

Firstly, doing nothing is reasonable for both lipomas and epidermoid cysts iff they’re small and not bothersome. However, if they’re a bother, then lipomas require simple surgical excision and usually don’t come back, while epidermoid cysts also require a surgical intervention, and/but must have the entire cyst wall removed to prevent recurrence.

In few words: neither lump is life-threatening, but knowing the differences can reduce anxiety and help you decide whether observation or removal makes the most sense for you.

For more on all this plus some visual illustrations as appropriate, enjoy;

Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

Want to learn more?

You might also like:

What Your Face Says About Your Health

Take care!