*Correspondence: Braimah Ramat Oyebunmi: Department of Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery, Usmanu Danfodio University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Sokoto State, Nigeria. E-mail: robdeji@yahoo.com IBBJ Summer 2017, Vol 3, No 3 Clinico-pathologic Appraisal of Lipomatous Lesions in the Head and Neck Region; a Multicenter Nigerian Study Ramat Oyebunmi Braimah 1* , Olujide Oladele Soyele 2 , Abdulrazaq Olanrewaju Taiwo 3 , Adebayo Aremu Ibikunle 1 , Micah Olalekan Gbotolorun 4 1. Department of Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria. 2. Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery and Oral Pathology, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. 3. Department of Surgery, College of Health Sciences, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Nigeria. 4. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Lagos. Nigeria. Submitted 15 Apr 2017; Accepted 3 May 2017; Published 13 Jun 2017 Lipomatous tumors originate from adipocytes, and represent the largest group of mesenchymal tumors. Lipomas are most likely under reported due to their insidious growth. About 13% of lipomas occur in the head and neck region. When they occur in the maxillofacial region, it is likely for the patients to be referred to the hospital for aesthetical reasons. In this multicenter study, data such as age, sex, duration of lesion, widest diameter of lesion and histological diagnosis was extracted from three university teaching hospitals in Nigeria. 50 cases of lipomatous tumours were seen during the study period. There were 30 males and 20 females. Age ranged between 2 months and 62 years. 14 cases (28%) were seen in the age group of 41-50 years. There was no statistical difference between age, sex and duration of lesion (P= 0.995, 0.183 and 0.482, respectively). There were 48 cases of benign lipomatous tumors and 2 cases of malignant types with a statistical significant difference (P< 0.001). Most of the lesions (23 cases (46.0%)) were located in the cheek. As most of lipomatous lesions in the head and neck region are benign neoplasm with low prevalence in the oral cavity, health care providers must be able to diagnose the lesion and manage them appropriately. Keywords: Adipocytes, head and neck, lipomatous lesions, mesenchymal tumors ipomatous tumors originate from adipocytes, and are the most common mesenchymal and soft tissue neoplasm in humans (1). Lipomas or liposarcomas represent the majority of fatty tumors. . They may occur at every age, but are commonly encountered in adults aged from 40 to 60 years, although they can also be found in younger adults and children (2). Because most cases of lipomas grow inside- ously and cause few symptoms except that of a localized mass, it has attracted relatively little interest in the literature (1). The number of reported cases of lipomas is most likely lower than the actual incidence because it is discovered insidiously, and is often not recorded. Furthermore, they rarely cause cosmetic problem or interfere with body function because of their anatomic location (3). However, when they occur in the head and neck region, there is a likelihood of early presentation, especially in the maxillofacial region. Among adipocyte benign L Short communication Downloaded from ibbj.org at 23:40 +0330 on Sunday November 28th 2021