Liposarcoma: A ‘Beer Belly’ in Disguise

Abstract

Liposarcoma is a locally aggressive tumor that may originate in soft tissue sites such as the retroperitoneum or the extremities, or less frequently, from the bone. The fatty tumor may have an insidious growth pattern and be present incidentally on imaging, or it may be present with symptoms such as small bowel or ureter obstruction. The diagnosis can be confirmed post-operatively via fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with the presence of mouse double minute 2 (MDM2) homolog protein and cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) gene amplification. The rate of recurrence may be high depending on the subtype of liposarcoma, so it is always recommended to have the patient undergo routine imaging every six months to a year. In this case report, we present a patient who presented with a massive, incidental liposarcoma found on imaging after coming to the emergency department for lower extremity trauma.