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You are here: Experts > Health/Fitness > Alternative Medicine > Acupuncture > Lipome
Expert: R. Scott Malone L.Ac.
Date: 4/24/2008
Subject: Lipome
Question
QUESTION: Hello,
My wife has a lipome, a kind of grease ball, just beside the scapula. She had an echography and no tumor is present. I would like to know if acupuncture might help to take it off or should we call for a surgery ?
Thank you
Pascal
ANSWER: Typically a lipome would fall under what is called "phlegm" in TCM.
When the Spleen qi is under functioning, you can get these fatty cysts.
Has it been biopsied? Was the diagnosis of lipome just done with observation? Often what is sometimes diagnosed as a cyst is actually a muscular or tendinous knot. How big is it? If it is a knot, it can be released by "pecking" with a needle, or a massage therapist could get it to release.
There is a technique called "circle the dragon" in which a needle is dropped down into the middle of the mass or pain, and then needles are place around it aiming towards the center of the issue.
This is used to bring the bodies attention to the problem, as well as alleviate pain, (not an issue in her case I assume). The body often times will take care of it itself.
If it is a lipome, then the spleen is underfunctioning. Chances are there are more, perhaps smaller elsewhere in the body. If that is the case, then acupuncture at the site as mentioned above, as well as getting needles to tonify the spleen channel, and herbs to strengthen the spleen would be in order.
The question to ask is, "why did this happen?" Things do not just appear in the body without a deeper imbalance. Your MD might just tell you that these things happen, or you're getting older, and that's just not good enough. If you just have it removed without addressing the underlying issue, then you can bet that more will reappear.
I hope this helped, feel free to ask me more questions if you wish.
All the best,
R. Scott Malone L.Ac.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank you for your help,
No biopsy has been made yet, only an echography ( right word in english ? it's what they use to wtch the baby during pregnancy). I don't think it would be a knot because it didn't disappear after several calming massages. But it's true that the difference to the touch is little, we can easily do a wrong diagnosis. It is not big at the moment, somethin like 5cm wide and 1.5 cm high.I'm not qualified to use the "circle the dragon" technique as I'm not a acupuncturist, but I could find one around I guess.It was painful at the beginning and it's the reason why I did apply a massage as if it was a knot. The pain dissapeared but the ball remained. Until now we didn't noticed any other lipoma but who knows where else could it grow up ? I completly aggree with you regarding surgery, if we don't treat the deep cause of that imbalance, other lipoma could appear afterward. Last time I gave her a shiatsu, I effectively noticed that SP Mu and Shu points were very sensitive. Liver and Kidney too seemed to be unbalanced. During the last days ,she suffered diarrhea which seems to be damp-cold origin. I applied undirect moxas to RM 12, RM 8 and St 25 which seemed to work well, diarrhea stopped the same day. I guess I would regularly check Liver and Spleen Pancreas applying shiatsu along all the meridians and pressing peculiar points such like RM 12, Bl 22, SP 9 and 6 to help damp going out, and why not a moxa on SP3 to stimulate SP Qi?
About he lipoma, I was thinking to give her Ban shia or chai hu herbs but not beeing an herbalist and seeing that those herbs can be toxics I thought to give her Xia Ku Cao herbal tea which is not toxic at all. What do you think of a two times a week moxa applied on the lipoma, turning anti clockwise ?
Thank you again for your nice advices
Pascal Moreaux
Shiatsu practitioner
Answer
I think you are doing a great job with Shiatsu on her, this will help greatly. SP3, 6 and 9 are great choices, I would add St36 and SJ5 to the mix.
I'm not familiar with the tea, but to tonify the Spleen, Si Jun Zhi tang is the formula of choice, Ren Shen, Bai Zhu, Fu Ling and Gan Cao Mi. Extra Fu Ling will help drain the dampness.
You might take her to someone to do acupuncture around the area, and perscribe some herbs as well.
You could do a sort of acupressure surround the dragon. Put one finger right on the middle of it, and imagine your finger sinking down to the very center of it.
Then just take 2 fingers on your other hand and put them on either side and imagine them sinking into the body and meeting the midle finger. No real pressure just hold and activate the qi and the body.
Good Job, you should go to school for acupuncture and herbology, you'd be really good at it!
Scott
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