International Journal of Clinical Case Reports 2015, Vol.5, No. 35, 1-4
1
A Letter Open Access
Intra-oral Lipoma: A Case Report
Nayyar Abhishek Singh
1
, Patil Namrata N.
2
, Gandhi Sweta
3
, Gandhi Rahul A.
1
1. Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Saraswati-Dhanwantari Dental College and Hospital and Post-Graduate Research Institute, Parbhani,
Maharashtra, India
2. Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Saraswati-Dhanwantari Dental College and Hospital and Post-Graduate Research Institute, Parbhani,
Maharashtra, India
3. Department of Public Health Dentistry, VSPM Dental College, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India
Corresponding author email
International Journal of Clinical Case Reports, 2015, Vol.5, No.35 doi: 10.5376/ijccr.2015.05.0035
Received: 21 Jul., 2015
Accepted: 22 Aug., 2015
Published: 02 Sep., 2015
Copyright
©
2015 Nayyar et al., This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Preferred citation for this article:
Nayyar Abhishek Singh, Patil Namrata N., Gandhi Sweta and Gandhi Rahul A., 2015, Intra-oral Lipoma: A Case Report, International Journal of Clinical Case
Reports, 5(35) 1
-
4 (doi
Abstract
Lipoma, a benign tumour of adipose tissue, is one of the most common benign neoplasms of the body. However, its
occurrence in oral cavity is relatively rare. It accounts for 1 to 4% of benign neoplasms of the oral cavity, affecting predominantly
buccal mucosa, floor of mouth and tongue. They have been known to grow to sufficiently large sizes causing problems in mastication
and speech. The usual lesion consists of a well-circumscribed, lobulated mass of mature fat cells wherein sometimes, the covering
mucosa may become ulcerated presenting difficulty in its diagnosis. Herein, we are presenting a case of intra-oral lipoma affecting
right anterior buccal mucosa in a 31 year old female patient. Excisional biopsy was performed and histopathological examination
revealed proliferation of mature adipocytes arranged in lobules and separated by numerous fibrous septa. After a 3 month follow-up,
the patient did not reveal any signs of recurrence. The clinical and histopathological findings are discussed in detail and literature is
reviewed.
Keywords
Lipoma; Benign tumor; Adipose tissue
Introduction
Oral lipomas have been reported in individuals from 6
weeks of age to 75 years of age. The buccal mucosa
and mucobuccal folds are the most common sites
followed by tongue, floor of mouth and lip. As pain is
not the symptom, patients may not be aware of the
lesion, but those who are aware, report a slow growing
mass that may have been present from 1 month to 30
years (Wood and Goaz, 1997). Lipoma usually occurs
as a solitary lesion that may be sessile, pedunculated
or submerged. It ranges in size from a small lesion
approximately 1cm in diameter to a massive growth
around 5cm×3cm in its greatest dimension. Deeper
lesions may vary in color and shape ranging from a
well- defined, round contoured swelling to a large,
ill-defined, lobulated mass. The color is often in
yellow tones and actually depends on the thickness of
the overlying mucosa and the depth of the lesion
beneath. The surface is typically smooth and
non-ulcerated except when traumatized (Wood and
Goaz, 1997). Although its aetiology is unknown,
possible causes may include trauma, infection, irritation,
and hormonal alteration. In few cases of lipoma,
rearrangement of 12q, 13q and 6p chromosomes has also
been observed making it to be a genetically determined
condition
(Rajendran and Sivapathasundharam, 2009).
Case Report
A 31 year old female patient presented with a slowly
growing intra-oral mass due to which the patient
reported difficulty in swallowing since few days.
During intra-oral examination, a pinkish nodular
growth in relation to right anterior buccal mucosa was
noted (Figure 1). Since the lesion was asymptomatic,
the patient could not precisely define when the lesion
appeared. Extra-oral examination revealed no specific
abnormality. An intra-oral examination, however,
revealed a well-defined, pedunculated growth protruding
from the right anterior buccal mucosa, extending from
the distal aspect of 43 to the mesial aspect of 45. On
palpation, the growth was non-tender and soft in
consistency. It measured 1.5 cm×2 cm in greatest
dimension. In keeping with the above findings, a
provisional diagnosis of traumatic fibroma was given
while pyogenic granuloma, peripheral giant cell
granuloma, lipoma, buccal fat pad and oral
