Clinical and pathological investigation of lipomas in the oral cavity, and the head and neck region.

Thirty oral lipomas and eight extra-oral lipomas were investigated clinically and histopathologically.The most common site of the oral lipoma was the buccal mucosa, followed by the tongue and gingiva. The extra-oral lipomas occurred in the cheek, submandibular region, and neck. Most of the oral lipomas were found in patients over 40 years old. Extra-oral lipomas were found in patients in each generation, including lower ones. The sexual difference was not noticed in either lipoma. The only symptom was a painless mass in all cases. The time between the initial discovery and removal was rather long; the mean time of the oral lipoma was two years and the mean of the extra-oral was two and a half years. The size of the oral lipomas was rice-size to 40 mm and the size of the extra-oral was 30mm to 70×75 mm. The extra-oral case included larger tumors. The CT was useful in the diagnosis. ifistopathologically, 30 oral lipomas included 24 simple lipomas, 5 fibrolipomas and one lipoma with cartilaginous formation, and all eight extra-oral lipomas were simple lipomas.Consequently, it is suggested that there are some differences between the oral lipoma and extra-oral lipoma of the head and neck region.