- The tumor was not infected and was confirmed not to be cancerous
- The mass, diagnosed as pilomatrixoma, was removed via minor surgery
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A California man developed a benign tumor after receiving the Pfizer Covid vaccine, doctors have revealed.
The 65-year-old man, whose name and location have not been released, went to his doctor after living with a 3cm lump on his shoulder for more than a year.
He was diagnosed with a benign tumor that starts at the base of a hair follicle and is normally firm and painless – which was traced to his first Pfizer injection 18 months earlier.
Surgeons removed the mass, which they said contained “cheesy material,” and he made a full recovery.
Surgeons removed the tumor, which they said contained “cheesy material,” and the patient made a full recovery.
These types of tumors – pilomatrixomas – have been linked to several types of vaccines for various diseases, including influenza and hepatitis.
It has been observed at least twice in the past in connection with Covid vaccines, one of which was also caused by the Pfizer vaccine.
But it is the trauma to the area, such as an injection, that causes the tumor to form, not the material in a vaccine.
The last patient visited his doctor in Los Angeles complaining of a “firm” but painless lump in his left upper arm.
He underwent minor surgery to remove the mass and then tissue testing confirmed it was a non-cancerous pilomatrixoma.
When examining the contents of the tumor, doctors found fragments of hard, soft tissue containing 'cheesy material'.
Three months later, the man reported no recurrence of the lump.
Pilomatrixomas are often difficult to diagnose given their rarity and the many different ways they appear. It is estimated that only 12.5 to 55.5 percent of cases are correctly diagnosed.
The mass may initially be confused with other conditions that present in a similar way, including a granuloma – collection of white blood cells and tissues in response to infections – and lipoma – a fatty lump that grows slowly between the skin and muscle.
To accurately diagnose a pilomatrixoma, doctors must perform an ultrasound and examine the tissue of the nodule under a microscope. Once diagnosed, the tumor is removed through a surgical incision under local anesthesia – where doctors make a small incision in the tissue while the patient is awake, using a sharp medical instrument to remove the mass.
These masses usually occur in patients younger than 20 years of age and are often found on the head and neck.
The case report mentioned two other cases of pilomatrixoma that occurred after a Covid vaccine in a 30-year-old woman and a 43-year-old woman.
There is no information on which vaccine the 30-year-old received, but it is known that the older woman also received the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid shot.