Endolaryngeal Lipoma: Case Report and Literature Review

Abstract

Lipomas are the most common benign tumors affecting the soft tissues. They can occur at any age, but they typically appear in patients older than 40 years. They are found equally in men and women. Lipomas are uncommon in the head and neck, but when they do appear there, they can arise in any location, including the palate, tongue, tonsil, larynx, and parotid gland. We report the case of a 63-year-old man who presented to the emergency department with a large spindle-cell lipoma of the endolarynx. The patient was followed for 6 months, and he exhibited no snoring or breathing difficulties.

Lipoma of the Larynx and Other Differential Diagnoses

“…Lipomas are the most common benign mesenchymal tumors, presenting at any age, but predominantly during the 4 th –6 th decades of life due to gradually increasing size. [1,2] Even though lipomas in the head and neck region are uncommon (<15% of all lipomas), they can manifest in any subsite, including the tonsils, tongue, parotid gland, palate, and larynx. [1,3]…”

“…Laryngeal lipomas may often be an incidental finding as in this case but can also be hard to diagnose due to the symptoms being non-specific. [1] Dyspnea, sleep apnea/snoring, paroxysmal coughing, dysphagia, and airway obstruction are among the clinical manifestations of this entity. [2,6]…”

“…A recurrence of lipoma is rare and may be due to one of two reasons; the lesion is a well-differentiated liposarcoma and not a classic lipoma or due to incomplete resection of the lesion. [1]…”

Parotid Lipoma: A Case Report

“…In the head and neck, it arises mainly in the posterior cervical triangle and forehead. On rare occasions, however, it may occur in the pharynx, larynx, especially oral cavity, parotid gland and parapharyngeal space [1] [3] [5]- [7]. They can also be localized in the periparotid area and submandibular region [8]- [10].…”

Rare cases of benign tumors of the head and neck: lipoma of larynx and sternocleidomastoid muscle

“…[2][3][4] They can appear in patients of any age, but most cases commonly occur in the fourth decade or later. [5,6] They are usually asymptomatic except for cosmetic effect or may cause non-specific symptoms such as dysphagia and dyspnea. We present two cases of lipomatous lesions of the larynx and the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle and review the English literature.…”