Premium
Axillary giant lipoma: A report of two cases and published work review
Author(s) -
Nakamura Yasuhiro,
Teramoto Yukiko,
Sato Sayuri,
Yamada Katsuhiro,
Nakamura Yoshiyuki,
Fujisawa Yasuhiro,
Fujimoto Manabu,
Otsuka Fujio,
Yamamoto Akifumi
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1346-8138
pISSN - 0385-2407
DOI - 10.1111/1346-8138.12598
Subject(s) - lipoma , medicine , axilla , lesion , neurovascular bundle , soft tissue , radiology , magnetic resonance imaging , surgery , anatomy , cancer , breast cancer
Lipomas are common, benign, small‐sized, soft‐tissue tumors. However, giant lipomas are uncommon and the tumor size can cause pain and nerve compression syndrome. The axilla is an extremely rare location for development of giant lipomas. We report two cases of axillary giant lipoma. A 47‐year‐old man (case 1) and a 42‐year‐old woman (case 2) presented with a large mass in the axillary region. Case 2 had tenderness in the shoulder and numbness in the upper arm. Magnetic resonance imaging of each tumor showed a homogenous soft‐tissue mass in the axillary region, suggestive of lipoma. In case 2, the tumor extended from the axilla to the supraclavicular region and split and compressed the neurovascular bundle. Each lesion was successfully excised surgically without serious complications and recurrence. In case 2, the tenderness and numbness disappeared. Histologically, each lesion was composed of multilobulated, mature adipose cells, which led to a diagnosis of benign lipoma. Axillary giant lipoma is preferably excised surgically to avoid damage caused by tumor compression to the major vessels or nerves, to offer better local control and to establish a correct final diagnosis.