Conflicting diagnoses about a "mass" on ribcage?

[erica1991]

Hello,

This has been an ongoing issue, but I wanted to post it here to see if it rings any bells for anyone else. A while back I had posted in this thread about a hump on my back that I thought was a lipoma, I saw several doctors and was finally diagnosed with a dowagers hump, adult onset scoliosis in my thoracic spine, and arthritis in both of my AC joints (I am only 24). Around the same time in December, I had noticed that there was a prominence in my left rib cage and I mentioned it to the chiropractor that I was seeing for adjustments (I was also doing physical therapy at the same office for my back) and she thought it was a "rib cage twisting" from the scoliosis in my spine (which I was told was mild, I have not had it evalauted by someone other than a chiropractor). Fast forward to around valentines day, I noticed that it was really bothering me to lay on that ribcage, so I looked in the mirror and I have what looks like a full blown mass there now. When I pull up the skin a large pointy thing pops out. I went back to an orthopedic surgeon who gave me a corticosteroid shot in my ac joint to reduce swelling and fluid and he did an x-ray and said it looked like a mass on my 12th rib, and then sent me for an MRI. The actual MRI was a disaster, my doctor ordered it w/ and w/o contrast, and the radiologist refused to use contrast and was saying the area was just fat and he could not distinguish it from a lipoma. Now this area HURTS, I have bought new bras that don't have an underwire because the wire bras would rub on the spot and would bother me all day, and I have to sleep in certain positions so I cannot feel it. My doctor saw the scans and diagnosed it as a lipoma, so I went to see a surgeon who also performs thoracic surgeries to have it removed. He said that it was NOT a lipoma, but a chest wall deformity from the scoliosis in my thoracic spine. If it was a chest wall deformity, and it was not "bulging" and "pointy" and looking like a tumor  in December, would it really advance that quickly in a few months? Through my medical history he realized that I have gallbladder disease and I am scheduled to have that removed, but he said that he only wants to monitor my chest. I don't want to be monitored, I want to solve whatever this is because as the days go by it only becomes more aggravating to me. I made an appointment to see an orthopedic surgeon who works on spines to either say yes, this is a chest wall deformity or no, this is a lipoma. I am moving back home, so I will not be able to address this issue again until May, but I am at a loss of who to contact, so I am REALLY hoping this third doctor can tell me what is wrong. I should note that I picked up my MRI disc, and the images were HORRIBLE!!! They were ALL dark and ALL blurry. I will be mentioning this to him on Monday.


Any Ideas?! I am at a loss here. And it is a very prominent mass, not one that you have to search for.