swelling near the left chest, which dissapears when lying flat on my back

[amitgh]

Hi, I am 31 yr old. I have several (3-4) swelling in the left side, the first onw which occured is just near the midrib, lower side of the chest.  this swelling is there since last 17 yrs. it dissapears when i slep flat on mu back and appears when i am in any other position. sometimes it pains a lot. x-ray and ecg could not show anything but the number has grown to 4 and  the last one hat appeared is on my back.  the sweeling is hard , like a lump of aoung 2 inch in diameter. could you please help? i will clarify if you need me answer any further questions for diagnosis.

[amitgh]

Hi, thanks for the quick response. Just to mention that all these 4 swellings have the same characteristic, they disappear when lying, the one on the chest disappears when lying flat, the back one disappears when I lie on my chest and the one just below the left armpit also disappears when i sleep turning right.  Biopsy was advised by one, but since it very near the heart, so the doctors gave up the idea. The pain is sometimes intolerable, and main concern is that the numbers of swellings are growing. And more or less all these swellings are along the same horizontal. i will certainly go for a CT scan as per your advise and keep you posted

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
A swelling in the front of chest could be an epigastric hernia. Get this evaluated by a surgeon. Coughing will cause impulse to travel to it and a change in its size. The lump at the back could be a lipoma or a neurofibroma. Even the lump in front could be that. A CT scan will be able to catch a lump if there is one.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!