EvoElite Keto Usually, this tophi doesn't hurt. However, tophi can be a valuable clue to diagnosis because the crystals formed can be removed with a small needle to be diagnosed by microscopic examination. Microscopic evaluation of tophi shows uric acid crystals. Uric acid is produced when the body metabolizes the food we eat and when body tissue is broken down during normal cell rotation. Some people with gout produce too much uric acid (10 percent of gout cases) and are medically referred to as "overproduction". http://www.bevinselfportrait.com/