Large Lipoma on Upper Arm - What Kind of Doctor?

I Have a Very Large Lipoma, my Whole Hand Covers It, on my Upper Arm. What Kind of Doctor? Why a plastic surgeon? I have been told it will involve nerves and muscle tissue. It has been sore and bothering me for several months.

Doctor Answers 4

Lipoma - Removal and Technique


Any of several types of doctors can reasonably remove a growth such as this.  In general, you would probably want as small an incision as possible, and since plastic surgeons are usually good technically and spend lots of their time and thought performing surgery in order to achieve the best possible aesthetic result, it makes sense to go to one for a lipoma removal.  It is not, however, critical, and there are many good surgeons in many different specialties.

Most lipomas do not actually involve nerve and muscle, except to the extent that they may originate from deeper tissues, including from within the muscles.  But they are not truly attached to them, aside from some connective tissue.

If there is any question of a deeper involvement and/or other structures, you should consider having a CT Scan or MRI first, but this is generally much more than is necessary for this procedure.

I hope that this helps, and good luck,

Dr. E

Large lipoma

general surgeon or plastic surgeon. for very large ones an ultrasound or ct would suffice to assess depth of lipoma.

Lipoma on arm - plastic or general surgeon?

Either a plastic or a general surgeon would be able to remove your lipoma for you.  Plastic surgeons have other techniques at their disposal, such as liposuction, that could remove your lipoma with less scarring, as long as the diagnosis is certain.


If there is any hint of involving muscle, nerve then an MRI is needed.

Why a plastic surgeon? because they are good, they know the anatomy of the area and nerve, arteries etc

Samir Shureih, MD
Baltimore Plastic Surgeon
4.2 out of 5 stars 7 reviews
