How quickly can multiple lipomas be removed?

[T__C]

I have many lipomas. My dermatologist is good at removing them. We started working on them last winter, and we are up to 27 lipomas removed. By the time we are done, the count will be over 50.

My dermatologist tells me that the policy in his practice is to remove a maximum of two lipomas every two weeks because they don't want patients to have more than two incisions healing at a time. Sometimes, he will stretch this rule and remove three if they are in a cluster, but he has never gone beyond 3. It has taken me 12 appointments to get through the first 27.

From my perspective, this is very frustrating. I would prefer to remove many as many lipomas as possible during each appointment. Given his efficiency at removing them, I think my doctor could easily remove 20 or more during a three-hour appointment.

I do not believe the "multiple incisions are dangerous" justification for setting the limit at 2 per fortnight. Yes, 20 incisions are more likely to get infected than 2 incisions, but I'm going to have 20 incisions any way we do it – The only question is whether I have 20 incisions all at once for a couple of weeks, or 20 incisions spread out over a few years. Logically, it seems much safer to have the incisions all at once because it is much easier to exercise good medical precautions over a short period of time than over a long period of time.

Anyway, I'm posting here to ask the forum whether anyone else has had lots of lipomas removed (or as a dermatologist removed lots of lipomas). And if so, what pace did you set? Is 2 at a time an industry standard? And are exceptions made for patients with an especially large number of lipomas?

[GerryG13]

The number removable is unlimited. It depends on the skill and celerity of the remover.

[Emily_MHManager]

I couldn't find much on the pace of removals, but I did find some things about removing multiple lipomas using liposuction as an alternative to multiple incisions. Of course, there are lots of things that determine if you're a good candidate for that, but here's some info:

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15008-lipomas/management-and-treatment

https://www.enhanced-you.com/smartlipo-triplex/smartlipo-triplex-removal-lipoma/ - this is part ad, part article, but it's decent.

There are pros and cons, obviously, so do your research, and if you need to, find another doctor.

I did find this - it's a show called Dr. Pimple Popper, and oh, it is not for the squeamish, but she removed over 60 lipomas at once - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdaHo2SKYFs

[GerryG13]

I watch that show from time to time. Dr. Sandra Lee seems to be smart, and seems to be a good derm surgeon.

People could learn a thing or two by watching her.