Large Intraosseous Lipoma of the Skull: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Abstract

Background: Intraosseous lipomas occurring within the skull are rare. Currently, the known locations include the frontal bone, parietal bone, temporal bone, and ethmoid bone. Thus far, we have found only 12 cases of lipoma at the top of the forehead on the skull, and only 2 cases of recurrent intraosseous lipoma have been reported. The patient with intraosseous lipoma we have described was a 3-year-old boy, the youngest of the 12 known patients with intraosseous lipoma of the skull, and the patient had repeated relapses.

Case description: We report the history of a 3-year-old boy with a giant intraosseous lipoma in his left frontal region when he came to our hospital for treatment. The head computed tomography scan showed a left frontal plate with an oval low density, and the boundary was clear. The lesion affected the normal appearance of the child. He had experienced varying degrees of recurrent growth after 2 operations. At the last follow-up examination, the appearance of the patient had improved greatly.

Conclusions: For large intraosseous lipomas occurring in the skull, owing to its special position and the tendency for repeated relapses to develop, extending the excision is an effective surgical approach. For swelling involving a wide range, surgery should involve specialists in craniofacial surgery.

Keywords: Intraosseous lipoma; Pediatric; Repeated relapses; Surgery.