How Long Does Lipoma Surgery Take to Heal from Your Back?

I recently got a lipoma removed from my back. It was a couple of cm long. Im on day 2 and it still hurts, I am afraid to lay on my back feeling it might open up the stitches. How long will this take to heal? Also I wanted to take a day trip this saturday'(surgery was monday) and I was going to drive. I am actually going pumpkin picking. Would it be ok for me to drive, I was told not to bend or lift anything heavy for more thank a week.

Doctor Answers 1

Small Incision Surgery Works Well For Removing Small to Medium-Size Lipomas

Lipomas, which are benign fat tumors (fat accumulations), ordinarily do not cause symptoms. However, in areas where they protrude and bulge, they often cause considerable cosmetic distress. Traditional surgical approaches require an incision along the entire diameter of the bulge, which, with larger lesions, typically requires many stitches to close, longer healing times and consequently are more like to leave  prominent, unsightly scars.

Piezotherapy is a simpler approach that works for removing most small to medium sized lipomas--best for those measuring only a few centimeters across in diameter. With this technique a small punch is made under local anesthesia over the center of the bulge. The fatty contents are then "delivered" through the small opening that results, much the same way a full-sized baby is delivered through the small opening of the vagina. Once all the contents are removed, the small incision can be closed with very few sutures, and the scar that results is naturally far smaller than those created by tradiitonal excisional surgery and generally barely visible because of its smaller size. Healing, too, tends to be faster and less eventful owing to the smaller incision.

The larger surgical incisions produced by the more traditional surgical approach to lipoma removal and the greater number of stitches, as appears to be the case here, will likely entail a longer overall healing time and greater initial restrictions on physical activity. Such possible restrictions need to be discussed specifically with the surgeon who performed the procedure.

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