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Case Reports
. 2007 Winter;15(4):219-22.
doi: 10.1177/229255030701500405.

Giant submental lipoma: Case report and review of the literature

Carlos R Medina  1 , S Schneider, A Mitra, J Spears, A Mitra
Affiliations
Case Reports

Giant submental lipoma: Case report and review of the literature

Carlos R Medina et al. Can J Plast Surg. 2007 Winter.

Abstract
in English, French

Lipomas may be located in all parts of the body and may be confused clinically with other soft tissue masses. They infrequently occur in the head and neck. A large neck mass (greater than 10 cm) with a rapid growth rate should raise concerns about a possible malignancy. Failure to distinguish a liposarcoma from a lipoma may represent a medicolegal pitfall. Surgical excision of a lipoma is often used as the definitive treatment modality, and alternative treatments described for lipomas range from liposuction to steroid injections. In the present study, a 60-year-old man who presented with a rapidly enlarging submental mass is described. A 15 cm x 12 cm mass was successfully removed. The surgery produced excellent cosmetic results and no functional impairment. An integrated review of the literature regarding etiology, epidemiology, diagnostic and treatment modalities of submental lipomas follows.

Les lipomes peuvent se situer n’importe où sur le corps et, d’un point de vue clinique, on peut les confondre avec d’autres masses des tissus mous. Dans de rares cas, ils se manifestent sur la tête et le cou. Une grosse masse sur le cou (de plus de 10 cm) au taux de croissance rapide doit soulever la possibilité d’une malignité. Le fait de ne pas distinguer un liposarcome d’un lipome peut représenter un écueil médicolégal. L’excision chirurgicale d’un lipome constitue souvent une modalité de traitement définitive, et les autres traitements décrits varient de la liposuccion aux injections de stéroïdes. Dans la présente étude, on décrit le cas d’un homme de 60 ans qui a consulté en raison d’une masse sous-mentale à la croissance rapide. On lui a excisé une masse de 15 cm × 12 cm. L’opération a donné d’ex-cellents résultats esthétiques, sans atteinte fonctionnelle. Suit une analyse bibliographique intégrée au sujet de l’étiologie, de l’épidémiologie, du diagnostic et des modalités de traitement des lipomes sous-mentaux.

Keywords: Lipoma; Liposarcoma; Mass; Neck.

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Figures

Figure 1)
Figure 1)
An intraoperative preincision photograph of the patient’s submental mass
Figure 2)
Figure 2)
Computed tomography of the patient’s submental mass at the level of the hyoid
Figure 3)
Figure 3)
Intraoperative photograph of the patient’s neck after excision of the mass in its entirety
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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