Mr. Chen, a 46-year-old man from Shanxi, China, who typically enjoys rich foods and alcohol, began developing “small lumps” around his waist and hips many years ago. However, he paid no attention to them until they grew to the size of chicken eggs, prompting him to seek medical help. To his surprise, a medical examination revealed over 200 lipomas of varying sizes accumulated in his body.
Standing at 172 centimeters tall and weighing nearly 90 kilograms, Mr. Chen noticed several “small lumps” appearing around his waist, abdomen, and hips about a decade ago. While not readily visible, they could be felt upon touch, causing no discomfort, so he ignored them.
As his weight increased, more lumps began to appear all over Mr. Chen’s body, gradually spreading to his limbs. These fatty tumors varied in size and were particularly concentrated around his buttocks and thighs, protruding visibly from the skin. The largest one resembled a chicken egg, causing significant discomfort and disrupting his daily life.
Mr. Chen searched for treatment options and was eventually referred by a fellow sufferer of lipomas who had successfully undergone treatment. On March 13th, he sought treatment at the Central South Hospital of Wuhan University. After a thorough examination by Dr. Zhou Wei, an associate chief physician in the Department of Plastic Surgery, Mr. Chen was diagnosed with “multiple lipomas.” Accumulated over a long period, he had over 200 lipomas in his body.
Doctors explained that multiple lipomas manifest as multiple enlarging fatty tissue masses throughout the body, resulting from abnormal fat metabolism leading to excessive proliferation and aggregation of fat cells. Long-term excessive alcohol consumption, intake of high-protein, high-fat, high-cholesterol foods, and liver dysfunction may also be contributing factors.
Currently, there are no effective drugs for multiple lipomas, and surgical excision is the main solution. To ensure surgical safety, doctors needed to remove all lipomas within a short period. On March 14th, four doctors successfully removed all of Mr. Chen’s lipomas within just three hours. Follow-up scar treatment will be initiated later.
Experts explain that multiple lipomas are a benign condition that generally does not cause significant harm to the body. However, depending on their location and quantity, they may cause some degree of inconvenience in daily life, especially if they grow near joints, blood vessels, or nerves, leading to compression symptoms, reduced blood supply, numbness, and pain.