Lipoma of the coecum with secondary changes of the surface

Abstract

Our endoscopically and histopathologically well documented case report is about a lipoma of the colon, which is a relatively rare benign mesenchymal tumor found in the large intestine. The lipoma was cha­racterized as a pedunculated polyp in the cecum, intermittently translocating into terminal ileum and obstructing Bauhin’s valve, resulting in clinical symptoms. During patient examination, lipomas present with differential diagnosis challenges due to their close resemble to other disorders, which might occur much more commonly are more probable to be malignant. Furthermore, bigger lipomas can also harbour secondary changes, such as erosion, ulceration, bleeding and necrosis. Although endoscopic and ima­ging techniques offer assistance in characterizing lipomas, the final diagnosis still relies heavily on the resecting and histologic examination of the entire polypoid/tumor-like outgrowth of the mucosa. Superficial sampling might also lead to misdiagnosis. Our case had inflammatory, erosive and also hyperplastic surface which could have been concluded as a hyperplastic polyp of colon, a much more common occurrence.