Pedunculated lipoma of palate - A case study

Abstract

Introduction: Lipomas are a benign soft tissue neoplasm composed of mature adipocytes. They are most common soft tissue neoplasm in adults. These are usually subcutaneous tumors seen mostly on the trunk, back, shoulder and upper extremity. They are rarely seen in the oral cavity and account for less than 4% of all benign oral tumors. The patients usually present with an asymptomatic oral swelling. Histopathology shows many variants. Complete excision is curative with extremely rare recurrence. We report a case of a 40-year-old male with complaint of painless swelling in the oral cavity. The swelling was gradually increasing. On oral examination a pedunculated swelling was noted on the soft palate. The swelling was excised and was reported as a simple lipoma on histopathology. In conclusion, oral lipomas should be considered in differential diagnosis for the oral cavity swellings. A close follow-up is needed for deep intramuscular lipomas. We present this case for its rare presentation. Keywords: Lipoma, Benign, Oral cavity, Soft palate.