Familial multiple lipomatosis is a hereditary syndrome of uncertain prevalence. Multiple discrete, encapsulated lipomas are found on the trunk and extremities, with relative sparing of the head and shoulders. The number of tumors in any one patient may vary considerably. Although tumors usually range in size from a few millimeters to 6 cm in diameter, lipomas as large as 25 cm have been reported. [1]. Spontaneous regression and malignant degeneration are rare. The disease is not associated with any abnormalities in lipid metabolism [2].

From case reports, most authors have inferred an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance, although men are affected twice as commonly as women [1]. However, many of these reports are incomplete, as oftentimes the disease does not manifest until after age 30.

Although multiple lipomatosis was first reported in 1846 by Brodie, familial multiple lipomatosis was not reported until 1891 when Blashko described a man, his brother, and several of his children with a similar condition. In 1993 the genetic defect was isolated to chromosome 12q15, which encodes the high-mobility-group protein isoform I-C (HMGIC) [3]. It is now believed that this disorder results from a translocation involving HMGIC on chromosome 12 and the lipoma preferred partner gene (LLP) on chromosome 3 [4]. Although this condition is benign, many patients concerned with cosmesis seek removal of individual tumors. Treatment can include simple excision, endoscopic removal, or liposuction [5].

Source: http://dermatology.cdlib.org/94/NYU/Jan2002/2.txt

lipoma cause HIV

Or the other way around...

I have hundreds of these lumps on my arms , legs and torso. I have had 3 seperate surgeries to remove some but others arrive close to the scars. I am 39years old but have them for the last 18 years. I am fit, not over weight and doing a triathalon in June.
My Father has possibly two of thes lumps with my Brother getting one but as stated earlier I have hundreds. They are ugly and I cant wear sleeveless tops.

Any other suggestions on removal would be great. The last arm surgery removed about 50 under full sedation but was painfull for a number of days.

Hi there kellyl!

And I'm almost sad to say but welcome to the club! I have had some lipomas surgically removed too but what I have discovered that just doesn't add up to me. It's not worth it. The scarring is almost worse than the original lumps. Still I have had to remove some of them since they were causing me some pain.

But I think we should all combine our forces and search for alternative treatments. I do not want settle down and just accept these little evils NOR do I want to accept excision as the sole treatment. And for me the lipomas seem to pop up after an injury and hematoma. So I do not want dozens of new hematomas to my body that would potentially cause dozens of new lipomas.

I've had lipomas around the same time as you do.

There's a lot of information on the internet. Most are somewhat hogusbogus but every now and then something interesting is found. There's debate going on about a certain palm of whether it works or not, there are injection treatments, ozone infusion therapy and lots of others. All these are claimed to have achieved pretty good results.

I think if you keep hanging on this forum long enough something might pop up. But please don't let it stop you from doing what you feel is right for you. There are people who think surgery is the best option and I salute them. It's just not for me AND I'M 100 % SURE THERE ARE OTHER WAYS OF GETTING RID OF LIPOMAS.

All the best,
matt

I am 27 and first found lipomas probably about 10 years ago. I probably have over 100 of them on my arms, legs, and torso. I'm an identical twin, and he has them as well. Two of my cousins (who are brothers) have many of them as well. You are right, Kelly, they are ugly! Sounds like you have many more than me. I've never had surger to remove them, but have been thinking about it more recently. Only a few of mine are tender to the touch. One of my cousins did just have a few removed, but I haven't heard any of the results yet. It seems every day I find more. Where do they come from? Why do the come? My largest is about 1.5cm. It seems that if I "play" with them and move them around a lot, they get bigger. Any idea why? Think thats true?

Any help would be great.

And who in the world thought of making a website for a forum on Lipomas!! LOL

Oh yeah, and I am slim, trim, and fit. 6'1, 185, 8 pack abbs, et. al. So its not that I'm the typical American! Excercise doesn't seem to help at all.

Hi,

This is my first post, but I have the same problem as all of you. I hate the way my arms and body look. I may just be paranoid but sometime I feel as if the lipomas are the only thing people see when they look at me. Anyway, I have had surgery twice to remove over 100 each time. Most came back but other never resurfaced, dont know why just the way it is. Doc called them "angiolipoma", for whatever that is worth. He described them to have nerves and blood vessels in them, so some are painful if they are messed with. So I have tried massages, daily sauna, and fasting. Has anyone tried these methods and if so how was your results?

Hi jsgrif81!

Thanks for your post. I'm sorry to say that none of the things you mentioned has worked for me. Even if you lose weight the lipomas will most likely stay. You might want to check out the section called Treatments And Cures to see if there's some more help.

Cheers!

Hello, this is my first post to this site. I am a 31 yr old male. I have had lipomas for years now and I am about to have 3 excised, one from each upper arm and one from my low back. One of my parents was adopted and neither have the disease so I am not sure if my case is Familial or not. The 3 being removed I have been told are most likely angiolipomas due to the near constant pain generated from them. One thing I have not seen mentioned on this site elsewhere is that in addition to the lipomas I also enchondromas and have had one cureted twice now from my right 5th MC. Just wondering if any of you out there also have any enchondromas?

This is my first post too.
I'm 44 male living in UK , been getting these lipomas for around 12 years and had approx 15 removed over 4 hospital visits. Probably got around 30 all differing in size.
My question is does anyone else suffer other symptoms ?
I've never been fat up until I got the lipomas, now I'm probably 3 stone overweight mainly around the stomach. It always seems bloated. Also, I feel tired easy any my body aches a lot, mainly legs.
Another problem is chronic neck pain, this may be unrelated though.
Is it generally regarded that the face and head are spared from lipoma?
Lastly, someone told me the reason for FML is because the lymphatic system isn't functioning correctly, anyone else heard this.
Thanks guys......we suffer together

Hello,

My partner has about 40, but the number is increasing. He is 28 and of Asian descent - Pakistani - and was told that it is due to his genetic pool being too, let's say, 'concentrated'. His grandparents were distant relatives, which is the cause according to the specialist he was referred to. As for removal, he has decided not to bother. However he was told that liposuction would remove a fair few of them. I was just so relieved to find out that the lumps were not cancerous or dangerous. I feel for those who are caused pain, and hope they can be removed. We all have issues about how our bodies look - just appreciate your health. My partner's health is all that matters to me - and I don't find the lumps ugly at all. Just like he didn't find my teenage acne ugly when we met 10 years ago.

thanks for sharing Bea, sounds good to hear that not all think they are as nasty as i (we) do.

i have lipomas, but my parents or grandparents are close relatives, or atleast i have never heard of such....

Hi guys! Greetings from Singapore.
32 yr old asian male, good looking, fit, tanned...but totally devastated by fml
Gosh, it's a real pain to live with this lumps and it's rather comforting for me to see you bunch of guys here posting about your own experiences.
Well, im on route to seek chinese medical help and hopefully, i can share some nice pics of my beloved fatty friends with you guys.
Cheers!

I've been suffering with these for years, and until today I didn't realize there were others out there with the same problem, much less a name for it. My forearms are covered with dozens of these little cysts, ranging in size from a tiny spec up to about 5-6 mm. I'm so self-conscious of them. Years ago I had several excised to make sure they weren't malignant, and after recieiving assurances that they were harmless, I've largely ignored them. Lately though I've been wondering about removal options...they are packed so closely together and the distribution is so strange. I'll be checking back here regularly now, if not for solutions, just for the moral support. At 50 I've finally more or less outgrown my acne, but now I have these to contend with. Boo!!!

Hi everyone, just arrived here after searching the internet.. for someone to give me info about my condition. Just last week I found a strange lump on the back off my neck... it grew fast. Then the day after I found another one on my body on my ribs left side... I went histercal.. I really got frightened ...still am. Went to the doctor ..who told me not to worry ...it was benign and nothing to worry about... he just looked at it no x-rays no ultra sound.. no nothing really.. but I still worry because I think I have found a huge one on my stumach. I want them out.. and I want it now. I have started menopause already at 41 y. Do you know if this goes together ? Does anyone know ..why ? I have been thin (often to thin) my entire life until I had my second son back in 2006.. since then I carry a little extra on my stumach ..but non on other parts off my body. I dont have any lumps on my arms or my legs. Does healthy eating ..help at all do you think ? Have a nice day everyone Ragna

Hi Ragna,

I have somewhere between 30 and 60 of them. I stopped counting after 24. You should get at least one of them biopsied just to be sure it really is just a benign lipoma. Don't rely on a doctor's best guess.

I was interested to read the posts on this condition.
I'm not suggesting that the people contributing to this site don't have FMD, but I also have multiple angiolipomas and have been diagnosed with Dercum's Disease (adiposis dolorosa). May I suggest readers check out the Dercum's Disease site to see if they have any of the other symptoms of this condition. It is said to be very rare but I don't think it is - I suspect it is misdiagnosed. I felt like a hypochondriac as I always seemed to have something wrong with me - it was only when I saw the check list of symptoms that I had a Eureka moment! There isn't any treatment for Dercum's but knowing what is wrong with you does help.

Hello….

I’m 53 and have had these lipomas since my early 20’s. I have hundreds on my arms, torso, and trunk. When I was 28 I had 352 removed and again when I was 36 another 225. Today I have just as many. I have ignored them for y ears but lately a few have been putting pressure on my wrists so that I have tremendous weakness and pain whenever I try to carry anything or perform certain activities. I always assumed that these little jewels were just under the skin and visible if I was looking for them. In 2007 I had to have a hernia repaired and after the operation the surgeon told me she had to remove 5 lipomas before she could do the hernia repair.
I am 6’2’ and 185#, so definitely not overweight and never have been. Other than the two surgeries for removal I have had several removed 1 or 2 at a time from my wrist, elbow and forearm. The wrist and elbow because they were giving me pain and the forearm because it was huge/gross.
There are posts with people saying they prefer the lumps to the scars. I am the opposite. The scars will fade and a good surgeon can minimize them, but the lumps only get larger and multiply. If this is the “treatment” to get rid of them then I’m good with it.
Neither of my parents/grandparents have them and none of my children either..
I did have colon cancer at 34 with surgery and a year of chemo. It seemed to me that the chemo kept them in check but after that year they started multiplying/growing again.
At my age I care less and less what people think when they see my arms, thighs or trunk. I just ignore the lumps unless they cause problems. I’m in good health. It could be worse.

@ bo

How old are your children? I just ask because I didn't receive my first lipoma until 24, and the growth of multiple lipomas didn't occur until 4 years later. I also ask because my wife and I are in the process now of trying to having children. I'm very afraid of passing down this condition, as I would never want my child to feel like I do. BTW, my parents don't have any lipomas (my living grandparents don't have any either, and my mom doesn't recall her parents, now passed away, having any issues with lipomas). My older brother has about 8 or 9 of them (I think about how nice it must be to have only 8 or 9) and my younger brother has one tiny one.