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The term “wen” in everyday life usually means lipoma – a tumor of fat cells concentrated in a capsule of connective tissue. The localization of this benign formation is almost any part of the human body, but more often a lipoma occurs where there is a relatively small layer of subcutaneous fatty tissue. A wen can form on the shoulders, on the arms, on the elbows, on the hands, on the wrists, and even on the fingers. These formations very rarely degenerate into malignant tumors, but this possibility should not be completely ruled out.
Features of wen on the hands and fingers
The appearance of any non-standard formation under the skin is a good reason to see a doctor. Although most often the tumor turns out to be an ordinary wen, nevertheless, a non-specialist does not have the necessary amount of knowledge for self-diagnosis. A wen is not a tumor in the usual sense, it is a connective tissue capsule filled with fat cells.
Features of wen on the hands:
In very rare cases, lipid formations on the hands may not have a capsule, fat accumulates under the layer of the epidermis, penetrating into the depths of the muscle over time. This pathology is called diffuse lipoma;
Wen on the hands, reaching an impressive size, lead to impaired motor functions;
The saturation of the hands and fingers on the hands with nerve endings, the contact of the formation with the joints can lead to pain with excessive growth of the wen;
Wen on the hands are more often injured due to the specificity of their localization;
Even a small formation on the arm is clearly visible, which causes psychological discomfort to its owner.
Wen can grow in size, reaching the size of an orange or a tennis ball. The growth of the formation is further enhanced after its mechanical damage. Wen on the fingers are injured especially often, since the hands are involved in hundreds of different operations during the day.
Reasons for the appearance of wen
There are several factors, the combination of which leads to the appearance of a lipid formation on the hands and fingers. However, there are no specific reasons that cause the development of this particular type of wen. Many aspects can immediately influence the formation of lipomas.
Causes of wen:
Genetic predisposition;
Hypothyroidism, diabetes mellitus and other endocrine pathologies;
Violation of the functioning of the digestive tract, liver or kidneys;
Frequent psycho-emotional disorders, stress;
Pathological addiction to nicotine, alcohol, drugs;
Unbalanced diet – the predominance of fats and carbohydrates in the menu.
Genetically determined predisposition, diseases of the liver and endocrine glands are a common cause of lipomatosis – the multiple formation of wen under the skin of the hands and fingers. In this case, the localization of tumors is not limited only to the hands, wen are formed on any part of the patient’s body.
Lumps on the fingers
At the beginning of its development, such a formation may look like a common boil. A long stay on the finger of a soft, painless mound is a reason to define it as a wen. There is a very thin layer of epidermis and muscles on the fingers, so the lipoma does not have the opportunity for a strong increase. However, the growth of a wen on the fingers leads to the fact that it begins to interfere with the work of the joints, touching and damaging them.
The advantage of such an education is that a wen is easily diagnosed on the fingers, especially with its stable growth. Frequent injury to a fatty tumor forces the patient to seek medical help. To remove a large formation on the finger, a surgeon’s jewelery work is required to maintain the limb’s performance.
Lumps on the palms
Separately, xanthomatosis should be considered – a metabolic disease in which multiple tuberous growths with soft, loose, yellow contents form on the palms. It is a mixture of cholesterol and cholestanol. Xanthomas are localized not only on the hands, they can affect the eyelids, corners of the eyes, and in general any part of the body of a person suffering from a serious violation of lipid metabolism. Treatment of xanthomatosis involves a combination of drug therapy with surgical or cosmetic removal of yellow plaques and growths on the skin.
The main misconceptions regarding the treatment of wen on the hands
Self-treatment of a fatty tumor at home is very dangerous, no matter where it is and no matter how small it is.
There are several more misconceptions regarding the treatment of wen on the hands:
You can get rid of a wen with the help of medicinal herbs and compresses. The removal of minor symptoms by such methods is quite possible, but it will not be possible to completely cure the wen and eliminate its cause.
Returning to the right lifestyle will help cure the wen. To prevent education, you can stick to a diet, give up bad habits, but the process that has begun can not be stopped by such measures.
There are special diets designed to get rid of a fatty tumor. Body weight and the size of the wen are not related in any way, so losing weight will not help get rid of the problem, or at least even stop the growth of education.
Self-opening of the formation capsule will not help to get rid of it, since the fragments of connective tissue remaining in the wound will become the basis for relapse.
Differentiation of a wen on the arm from atheroma
A sebaceous gland cyst (atheroma) can have symptoms similar to a lipoma, so it can be very difficult to distinguish these formations from each other.
Differentiation of a wen from atheroma – the main signs:
The localization of atheroma is the sebaceous gland, the localization of the wen is its own capsule from the connective tissue;
Atheroma is tightly attached to the skin and is crowned with a clogged mouth of the gland, and the lipoma moves quite freely under the epidermis;
Pain and discomfort are frequent companions of the initial stages of atheroma development, and lipoma is painless, its main symptom is constant growth;
Localization of atheroma – the upper layers of the epidermis, its contents can look outward, and the lipoma is located deeper;
Atheroma is denser and more elastic to the touch than lipoma;
The skin above the surface of the lipoma can be folded, which cannot be said about the sebaceous gland cyst;
Lipoma has a more impressive growth potential, while atheroma rarely reaches the size of a quail egg.
In the treatment of a small lipoma (up to 3 cm in diameter), it is possible to use drugs that absorb adipose tissue. Atheroma is not subject to therapy by such methods, especially if the cyst has become inflamed.
Hand wen treatment
Before removing the wen on the hand or on the fingers, a visual examination of the tumor by the surgeon, its X-ray or ultrasound examination (ultrasound) is performed. If the doctor has doubts, he prescribes a histological analysis of the contents of the wen. The only possible method of treatment is the surgical removal of the formation, carried out taking into account the size and location of the wen on the arm.
Fat tumor destruction methods:
Puncture-aspiration method – it is used to remove formations no more than 2-3 cm in diameter, their contents are sucked out with a special needle, relapses are possible due to the fact that the capsule remains intact;
Cautery methods vapors of liquid nitrogen or high-frequency currents (cryolysis and electrocoagulation) are relevant in the case of small wen on the hands and fingers. At the site of vaporization of the formation, a pigment spot may subsequently occur;
Classic method – it is used to remove large wen, performed under local anesthesia in a surgical hospital, when the capsule is removed through the incision with a scalpel along with its contents;
Endoscopic method – removal of a large wen on the arm is carried out under the control of a miniature endoscope camera, healing occurs quickly, complications are minimal;
Radio wave method – excision of a wen with a radioknife, an effective and fast procedure that does not leave noticeable scars and guarantees the absence of relapses;
Laser method – a modern safe way to remove wen with a laser knife without bleeding, complications and relapses, but quite expensive in terms of cost.
During rehabilitation, the doctor prescribes drugs to prevent inflammation and regularly bandages the wound. The resulting keloid scars and scars are subsequently eliminated by laser skin resurfacing and dermabrasion.