Pleural lipoma: Report of a case

Abstract

We report herein the unusual case of a 45-year-old Japanese man whose chest X-rays revealed an abnormal shadow, increasing in size. A chest wall tumor was suspected, based on the findings of computed tomography (CT) of the thorax, the CT number of which was -137, chest roentgenogram, and an echograph. An open biopsy was performed to establish the final diagnosis. The resected tumor was a pedunculated pleural mass, yellowish in color, the pathological diagnosis of which confirmed a lipoma. Intrathoracic lipomas are rare, but pleural lipomas are seen even less frequently. CT, echography, and percutaneous needle biopsy have been found useful for diagnosing intrathoracic lipomas, but these examinations are not always adequate for confirming the final diagnosis. Consequently, tumor resection is essential for obtaining a pathological diagnosis.

A rare case of chest wall lipoma growing into the pleural cavity: a case report

“…Although the thoracic area is a rare location for lipomas, there have been several reports on it. Endobronchial lipoma [ 14 ], diaphragmatic lipoma [ 15 ], intramuscular lipoma [ 5 ], pleural lipoma [ 2 , 3 ], and intracardiac lipoma [ 1 , 16 ] are those that were reported. To our knowledge, a chest wall lipoma growing into the pleural cavity like in this case is extremely rare.…”

A rare case of chest wall lipoma growing into the pleural cavity: a case report

“…Endobronchial lipoma [14], diaphragmatic lipoma [15], intramuscular lipoma [5], pleural lipoma [2,3], and intracardiac lipoma [1,16] are those that were reported. To our knowledge, a chest wall lipoma growing into the pleural cavity like in this case is extremely rare.…”

“…Typical deep-seated lipomas are relatively rare and are located in the subfascial tissue (deep lipomas) or on bone surfaces (parosteal lipomas). In the thoracic area, several cases of lipomas in unusual locations such as intracardiac lipomas [1], pleural lipomas [2][3][4], and intramuscular lipomas [5,6] have been reported. We herein report an extremely rare case of a chest wall lipoma penetrating the pleural cavity.…”

Successful management of pleural lipoma by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery

“…In spite of the benign nature of the pleural lipoma, surgical treatment is recommended by most authors[56] as it is very difficult to differentiate lipoma from a well-differentiated liposarcoma preoperatively. However, if the lesion is symptomatic as in our patient, surgery is the only option which offers cure.…”