Just under a week ago I noticed a silver dollar size bump on my back located directly over my spine at about midpoint. Initially I wrote the pain off to other causes, sitting in the wrong position too long, not stretching, things like that. I have just seen a general surgeon for this bump and he has advised me after physical examination that it is a lipoma, and will remove it in two weeks. He didn t seem concerned that the lipoma is located right over my spine and he also said that my back pain probably didn t have anything to do with the lipoma, and that I would probably need to see someone else for that. Or just move on to a physician that can address the issue of the back pain also.
Lipomas are common.
Surgery is usually done when something is compromised by them, such as muscle invasion and nerve compromise. I would get a second opinion about your lipoma from a neurosurgeon or neurologist. A general surgeon's first thought is surgery. At the same time, you can have spinal column and cord examined to see if your have a disc herniation or whatever to cause the pain. Most of the time, lipoma surgery is for cosmetic reasons.