Retropharyngeal Osteolipoma Requiring an Interdisciplinary Approach

Abstract

Lipomas, tumors of adipose tissue, are common and make up 16% of tumors of mesenchymal origin. Approximately 25% of lipomas occur in the head and neck region and are commonly found subcutaneously in places, such as the posterior neck. 1 The prevalence is higher among men than women, and often arise in the fifth or sixth decade of life. 2 Lipomas can further be categorized based on their histopathology into variants such as angiolipoma, chondrolipoma, spindle cell lipoma, or, in our case, osteolipoma. 1 An 81-year-old Caucasian male complaining of dysphagia associated with weight loss of 2 years duration was referred to the otolaryngology office after magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain demonstrated a hyperintense retropharyngeal mass with smooth margins measuring 4.46 cm  2.35 cm in sagittal view (see Figure 1). The MRI was originally ordered for cognitive complaints. Nasopharyngeal fiber-optic examination revealed a large mass in the left posterior pharyngeal wall partially obstructing the airway. No mucosal ulceration was noted, and the true vocal folds demonstrated full range of motion. A computed tomography (CT) scan of the neck with contrast

Giant Retropharyngeal Lipoma

“…Bowers choose anteriortrans cervical procedure after larynx rotated medially to acces the anterior border of the spine and removed an osteolipoma of retropharyngeal space [10].…”

“…Lipoma may have different histologic subtypes, including angiolipoma, fibrolipoma, chondrolipoma, myxoid lipoma, pleiomorphic lipoma, spindle cell lipoma and osteolipoma [10,11].…”

A Giant Retropharyngeal Lipoma: A Case Report and Review of Literature

“…While the transoral approach is often preferred since it has lower morbidity, we performed the transcervical approach considering the giant size of retropharyngeal lipoma in the present case. Lipoma may have different histologic subtypes, including angiolipoma, chondrolipoma, and osteolipoma [8]. There is no evidence of malignant transformation or recurrence after complete resection of a retropharyngeal lipoma.…”