Lipomatosis
Amitabh Srivastava, MD
Key Facts
Terminology
Diffuse overgrowth of mature adipose tissue
Clinical Issues
Presents as painless mass or with obstructive symptoms
Tendency for recurrence due to poor circumscription
Diffuse lipomatosis: Limbs or trunk in kids < 2 years
Symmetric lipomatosis: Fat deposition around neck; middle-aged men of Mediterranean descent
Pelvic lipomatosis: Typically in black men in 3rd-4th decade
Steroid lipomatosis: Due to increased exogenous or endogenous steroids
Microscopic Pathology
Mature adipose tissue in sheets or lobules
May infiltrate into skeletal muscle or underlying deeper structures
No nuclear atypia
 Axial MR shows pelvic lipomatosis  compressing the rectosigmoid colon. Note identical signal intensity of lesionalarea to subcutaneous fat  . |
 Axial CT shows mediastinal lipomatosis with homogeneous mediastinal fat surrounding the pericardium  and increased fat in the posterior mediastinum  . |
TERMINOLOGY
Definitions
Diffuse overgrowth of mature adipose tissue
CLINICAL ISSUES
Presentation
Painful or painless mass
May mimic a neoplasm
Limb enlargement in extremity lesions
Laryngeal obstruction, caval compression in mediastinal lipomatosis
Bowel or bladder obstruction in pelvic lipomatosis
Stay updated, free articles. Join our Telegram channel
Full access? Get Clinical Tree
