Giant lipomas: a 14-case series

ABSTRACT

Introduction:

Lipomas are the most common benign mesenchymal tumors worldwide. To be considered giant, they must be at least 10 cm in one of its dimensions or weigh at least 1,000 g. The objective of this study is to analyze a series of cases of giant lipomas seen in our practice.

Method:

We conducted a retrospective analysis of the medical and anatomopathological records of patients diagnosed with lipomas who underwent surgery between January 2003 and January 2010.

Results:

We evaluated 14 patients with a mean age of 52.3 years (range, 33-72 years) and a mean evolution time until treatment of 4.4 years (range, 6 months to 20 years); 64% of cases presented no symptoms. All patients underwent surgical tumor resection. The average weight of the pieces was 3.8 kg (range, 512 g to 22 kg), while the average length of the longest axis was 27.5 cm (range, 15-66 cm). Postoperative complications were observed in 42% of cases.

Conclusion:

We observed prolonged periods of evolution until treatment, even in cases of large-volume lesions. Open surgical excision should be considered the treatment of choice for these tumors.

Keywords:
Lipoma surgery; Neoplasms; Adipose tissue surgery