A 65-year-old man from Kirov, Russia, has undergone surgery to remove a massive lipoma from the back of his neck after living with the growth for over 16 years.
According to doctors at the Kirov Regional Clinical Hospital, the man had attempted to treat the condition with ointments and home remedies, believing it would eventually go away. Despite these efforts, the lump continued to grow, eventually reaching the size of his head and causing increasing discomfort.
The tumor was diagnosed as a lipoma, a benign fatty mass that develops between the skin and underlying muscle tissue. While lipomas are typically soft and slow-growing, they can enlarge significantly over time if left untreated.
Igor Popyrin, head of the hospital’s surgical department, said the case was unusual due to the size and placement of the lipoma. “Usually, such a tumor grows slowly and painfully, so many patients postpone a visit to a specialist, hoping that the formation will disappear on its own,” he told the local outlet Izvestia.
The location of the lipoma posed a surgical challenge, as it was situated near major nerves and blood vessels in the cervical region. Surgeons had to take extra precautions during the procedure, keeping the patient on his side to avoid putting pressure on the tumor.
Popyrin emphasized that surgical removal is the only effective treatment for a growing lipoma, noting that alternative remedies offer no real benefit once the tumor reaches a certain size.
The patient is now recovering after the successful removal of the growth.