Giant Lipomas of the Hand. Our Experience

Objective Giant lipomas are benign tumors larger than 5 cm in size that are very uncommun in the hand, with the extant literature limited to case reports and small case series. The aim of the present study is to describe our experience with giant lipomas at the level of the hand, reviewing the most important aspects in relation to their diagnosis and treatment. Material and Methods We present 6 patients treated in our service with giant lipomas of the hand between 2007 and 2015. Four cases only presented difficulty in grasping and mobilizing the hand due to the large size of the lipoma. Two cases were accompanied by a clinical feature of compression of the median nerve in relation to its location within the carpal tunnel. Results All patients underwent surgery, and a complete excision of the lipoma was performed. The functional results have been satisfactory in all cases. Conclusions Giant lipomas of the hand are infrequent tumors of slow growth, generally asymptomatic, although they can cause a compressive pathology due to the great size that they reach. Magnetic resonance imaging is an especially useful test to locate and accurately determine the size of the lesion in view of its surgical excision. After surgery, it is important to make a differential diagnosis with low-grade liposarcomas through an anatomopathological study, since both, macroscopically, have similar characteristics.