Lipoma of the Deep Lobe of the Parotid Gland: Report of 3 Cases

Abstract

Since lipomas are common soft-tissue neoplasms in other regions of the body, they are found only rarely in the parotid gland and are, therefore, often not considered in the initial differential diagnosis of parotid gland tumours. Even rarer are lipomas arising in the deep lobe of the parotid gland with only 6 cases presented in the literature. Lipomas originating in the parapharyngeal space are also extremely rare. When there is any suspicion, computed tomography and especially magnetic resonance imaging are of high diagnostic value. Fine-needle aspiration cytology seems not to contribute much to an accurate diagnosis. None of these preoperative examinations allows an absolute reliable distinction between a lipoma and a liposarcoma. The preferred treatment is complete surgical excision which will minimize the possibility of a recurrence and will also lead to a definitive diagnosis. We report 3 patients with a lipoma of the deep lobe of the parotid gland, extending into the parapharyngeal space, and discuss differential diagnosis and radiological features of lipomas in this rare location.

Giant lipoma arising from the deep lobe of the parotid gland: Case report

“…6 The deep lobe of parotid gland lipoma is even rarer clinical entity, nearly 10 cases in literatüre. 1,6,7 They appear most frequently in the fifth and sixth decades of life with a male dominance1 Our patient was 57 year old and his tumor was originated from the deep lobe of the parotid gland.…”

Huge Lipoma of the Right Parotid Gland: Case Report and Review of 42 Cases

“…Only a few cases of parotid lipomas have been reported. We reviewed the case reports indexed in PubMed and found a total of 42 cases (table 1,[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] ). e age distribution was from 21 to 80 years; 27 patients were men and 15 were women.…”

“…Lipoma is one of the most common types of benign mesenchymal neoplasms that can arise whereever fat is normally present. 1 More than 10% develop in the head and neck region and rarely, they can arise in the oral cavity, larynx, pharynx, and parotid gland. 2 They may develop subcutaneously or sometimes submucosally, in almost any location in the body.…”

Lipoma in the deep lobe of the parotid gland: magnetic resonance imaging findings

“…İnfiltre edici veya diffüz lipomatozis fokal lipomaya az çok benzer şekilde gözlenir (14). Lipomlardan farklı olarak lipomatozis iyi sınırlı değildir ve internal septalar içermezler (4).…”