Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2025 May 15;2025(5):rjaf310.
doi: 10.1093/jscr/rjaf310. eCollection 2025 May.

Symptomatic pleural lipoma: a case report from Saudi Arabia

Ameen S Aldahar  1 , Abdullah Zakaria Al-Dhayan  2 , Raed N Alghamdi  1 , Raneem Abdullah Alrouji  1 , Ali Albargawi  1 , Rakan Mounla Ali  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Symptomatic pleural lipoma: a case report from Saudi Arabia

Ameen S Aldahar et al. J Surg Case Rep. .

Abstract

Pleural lipomas are rare, benign, slow-growing tumors composed of fat cells. This case report highlights a symptomatic pleural lipoma, adding to the limited surgical literature on this condition. A 56-year-old female presented with intermittent left pleuritic chest pain. Imaging revealed a benign left pleural lipoma without effusion or pleural thickening. The patient underwent video-assisted thoracoscopy surgery (VATS) for resection of the lipoma. Postoperative recovery was uneventful, with complete resolution of symptoms. Pleural lipomas are rare, benign, slow-growing tumors that are usually asymptomatic. Symptomatic cases should be managed with surgical resection via VATS for optimal outcomes.

Keywords: benign tumor; case report; pleural lipoma; thoracic neoplasms; thoracic surgery.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Demonstration of a pleural-based soft tissue mass consistent with lipoma.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Pleural lipoma after surgical resection, sent after for pathological testing.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gaffney H, Klebe S. Symptomatic pleural lipoma: a case report and literature review. Ann Case Rep 2023;8:1122. 10.29011/2574-7754.101122 - DOI
    1. Worden CP, Svoboda SA, Garcia EM. Pleural lipomatosis: an often-forgotten intrathoracic tumor. Radiol Case Rep 2020;15:854–7. 10.1016/j.radcr.2020.04.014 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jayle C, Hajj-Chahine J, Allain G, et al. Pleural lipoma: a non-surgical lesion? Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg 2012;14:735–8. 10.1093/icvts/ivs052 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kaur N, Singh J, Haq S, et al. Pleural and mediastinal lipomatosis with subpleural fat as a mimicker of pleural effusion – a rare case report. J Clin Diagn Res 2017;11:TD03–4. 10.7860/JCDR/2017/26182.10156 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Loddenkemper R. Medical thoracoscopy/pleuroscopy. In: Ernst A, Herth F (eds), Principles and Practice of Interventional Pulmonology. New York, NY: Springer, 2013. 10.1007/978-1-4614-4292-9_59 - DOI

Publication types