Surfers already have plenty of occupational hazards: reef cuts, surfer’s ear, sun damage, and the occasional board to the face.

Now add “liposurfoma” to the list.

The strange-looking condition produces soft, often symmetrical lumps along the lower chest and upper abdomen of longtime surfers. A new wave of attention followed a report featuring UC Irvine dermatologist Dr. Jeffrey Klein, whose research describes the growths as benign fibrolipomas that can sometimes be mistaken for cancer.

The name is relatively new; the condition isn’t.

Klein and colleagues studied seven surfers and proposed “liposurfoma” for fatty, fibrous masses appearing where the chest repeatedly presses against a shortboard while prone paddling.

Researchers believe years of low-grade compression between the board and rib margin trigger an abnormal repair response, creating fibrous and fatty tissue beneath the skin.…