A Case of Multiple Intramuscular Lipoma of the Tongue

Jung, Dong Hak; Im, Jung Hyuk; Park, Sun Ki; Lee, Myung Taek

Abstract

Although lipomas are among the most common benign tumors, their occurrences in the oral cavity has been reported infrequently, accounting for only 2.2% to 4.4% of all benign tumors in this site. Especially, lipomas of the tongue are rare tumors that are represented by less than 0.5% of all benign tumors in the oral cavity. There are two types of solitary lipomas, the cutaneous (superficial) type and the deep-seated (subfascial) type. The deep and soft tissue-infiltrating lipomas are classified into between-muscle groups (intermuscular lipoma) or within-muscle groups (intramuscular lipoma). Intramuscular lipoma is composed of mature adipose tissues that infiltrate into muscles in a diffuse manner, and the entrapped muscle fibers exhibited varying degrees of atrophic change. We experienced a case of bilateral multiple intramuscular lipomas of the tongue which was cured by surgery.