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What Causes Painless Swelling In Left Gluteal Area?
Posted on
Sun, 27 Dec 2015
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Sun, 27 Dec 2015
Answered on
Mon, 18 Jan 2016
Last reviewed on
Question : I have a painless swelling in my left gluteal area. Very very slight ache in my left foot similar to acheness after exercise in gym.
Mass is not hard but feels light fluid there
and deep in tissues. When I sit in bathtub,
it feels like sitting on some kind of cushion.
Non fluctuant too. No recent injury to that area. My wife noticed it 2 weeks ago.
Mass size, I estimate maybe close to
6 inches.
I have done much online reading and one
thing frightens me that it could be a soft tissue
sarcoma.
My health insurance kicks in this Friday.
Nurse at Kaiser says I should see a MD now...
I am just inclined to see a primary care md as a private patient and if necessary wait until
this Friday to have a CBC, MRI, and CAT Scan done to minimize costs.
Do these symptoms appear serious enough
to see MD now rather than wait until Friday?
What is your initial differential diagnosis?
Please advise XXXXXXX
Mass is not hard but feels light fluid there
and deep in tissues. When I sit in bathtub,
it feels like sitting on some kind of cushion.
Non fluctuant too. No recent injury to that area. My wife noticed it 2 weeks ago.
Mass size, I estimate maybe close to
6 inches.
I have done much online reading and one
thing frightens me that it could be a soft tissue
sarcoma.
My health insurance kicks in this Friday.
Nurse at Kaiser says I should see a MD now...
I am just inclined to see a primary care md as a private patient and if necessary wait until
this Friday to have a CBC, MRI, and CAT Scan done to minimize costs.
Do these symptoms appear serious enough
to see MD now rather than wait until Friday?
What is your initial differential diagnosis?
Please advise XXXXXXX
Brief Answer:
This does not seem to be sarcoma.
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Thank you for the query.
Can you please attach a photo of this swelling? Without it, its hard to give valuable answer.
The possibility of soft tissues sarcoma is very low. We assume the mass to be suspicious if it grows really fast (like doubles its size in few weeks) and is painful.
Sarcoma is usually build of hard tissue. This is characteristic for most of the cancers.
Soft lump is rarely malignant. It may be soft only at the early stage when the tumor is small. In case of large tumors, it should be hard to be a cancer.
Now the most important question is, since when do you have this lump. If its possible that it is there for months or even years, lipoma seems possible.
If it has appeared after gym, swollen muscle with fluid around it seems possible. It can appear due to minor injury (which could not be noticed). If so, the swelling can be present for few weeks.
For muscle related issues, pain killers greatly decrease the pain (please try Ibuprofen).
Finally, as you take Aspirin, hematoma is also possible. Located in deep tissues, can be invisible from the outside.
In my opinion, you can wait with it till Friday. And soft tissues ultrasound should be done to determine the nature of this swelling. I suggest you also to stop physical activity for some time.
Hope this will help. Feel free to ask further questions.
Regards.
This does not seem to be sarcoma.
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Thank you for the query.
Can you please attach a photo of this swelling? Without it, its hard to give valuable answer.
The possibility of soft tissues sarcoma is very low. We assume the mass to be suspicious if it grows really fast (like doubles its size in few weeks) and is painful.
Sarcoma is usually build of hard tissue. This is characteristic for most of the cancers.
Soft lump is rarely malignant. It may be soft only at the early stage when the tumor is small. In case of large tumors, it should be hard to be a cancer.
Now the most important question is, since when do you have this lump. If its possible that it is there for months or even years, lipoma seems possible.
If it has appeared after gym, swollen muscle with fluid around it seems possible. It can appear due to minor injury (which could not be noticed). If so, the swelling can be present for few weeks.
For muscle related issues, pain killers greatly decrease the pain (please try Ibuprofen).
Finally, as you take Aspirin, hematoma is also possible. Located in deep tissues, can be invisible from the outside.
In my opinion, you can wait with it till Friday. And soft tissues ultrasound should be done to determine the nature of this swelling. I suggest you also to stop physical activity for some time.
Hope this will help. Feel free to ask further questions.
Regards.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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