Symmetrical lipomatosis of the tongue—A rare cause of macroglossia: Diagnosis, surgical treatment, and literature review

Abstract

Symmetrical lipomatosis of the tongue is an extremely rare condition. To date, only eight cases have been reported in the literature. We present an extremely rare case of intramuscular lipomatosis of the tongue in a 67-year-old male. The present case is unique because of its infiltrating nature and the extension of the lesion. Glossectomy was performed to reduce the size of the tongue and for diagnosis. The literature is reviewed and clinical characteristics, pathology, and surgical treatment are discussed.

Benign symmetric lipomatosis in the tongue: an uncommon case

“…Symmetric lipomatosis of the tongue occurs more frequently in middle-aged men [4,5]. Owing to the lack of a connective tissue capsule and the resulting diffuse growth, in many cases only a reduction in size of the lipomas is possible [5,9,10]. The current report describes a rare case of solitary symmetrical lipomatosis in the tongue.…”

“…In this report, our patient had multiple yellowish nodules of the tongue, which were diagnosed initially as lipoma. Benign symmetric lipomatosis is differentiated from lipoma by specific characteristics, such as the findings of diffuse, nonencapsulated nodules usually involving multiple anatomic sites [9,10]. The main items in the differential diagnosis include traumatic fibroma, angiolipoma, and neurofibroma [3].…”

A case of symmetric lipomatosis of the tongue arising in a patient with alcoholic liver cirrhosis presenting with macroglossia

“…Symmetric lipomatosis of the tongue (SLT) is a benign non‐epithelial tumor with symmetrical lipogenesis on the bilateral tongue, suggesting a relationship with abnormal fat metabolism 1 . Lipomas arise from any part of the body, whereas lipomatosis is defined as systemic multiple lesions characterized by diffuse proliferation of adipose tissue 2 . In addition, this disease occurs in habitually heavy alcohol drinkers, and some cases have been reported in patients with a history of alcoholic liver cirrhosis 1,3 .…”

“…1 Lipomas arise from any part of the body, whereas lipomatosis is defined as systemic multiple lesions characterized by diffuse proliferation of adipose tissue. 2 In addition, this disease occurs in habitually heavy alcohol drinkers, and some cases have been reported in patients with a history of alcoholic liver cirrhosis. 1,3 We report a rare case of SLT presenting on the bilateral tongue margins with macroglossia in a patient with alcoholic liver cirrhosis.…”

Glosectomía parcial. Una técnica quirúrgica para tratamiento de macroglosia.

“…superiores e inferiores, los valores de presión de la lengua no cambian después de la glosectomía, las funciones como la deglución, la succión y el habla no se afectan significativamente después de la glosectomía parcial (16,17).…”