Giant Cervical Lipomas: Case Series and Literature Review

Nogognan Ignace Lengane; Ibrahim Savadogo; Judicaël Marouruana Milkisedek Somé; Arsène Coulibaly; Noe Zaghre; Bertin Priva Ouedraogo

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijo.20251102.14

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Giant Cervical Lipomas: Case Series and Literature Review

Nogognan Ignace Lengane^*

, Ibrahim Savadogo

, Judicaël Marouruana Milkisedek Somé

, Arsène Coulibaly

, Noe Zaghre

, Bertin Priva Ouedraogo

Published in International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology (Volume 11, Issue 2)

Received: 9 July 2025 Accepted: 28 July 2025 Published: 13 August 2025

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Abstract

Background: Giant lipomas of the neck are rare, slow-growing benign tumours of adipose tissue that may pose significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Their large size may result in cosmetic deformities or compression of adjacent vital cervical structures, making early diagnosis and appropriate surgical management essential. Objective: This study aims to describe the clinical, radiological, and surgical features of giant cervical lipomas based on a case series, and to provide a brief review of the relevant literature. Methods: We retrospectively analysed six cases of giant cervical lipomas managed in the ENT Department of the Regional University Hospital of Ouahigouya. Data collected included demographic characteristics, clinical presentation, tumour dimensions, radiological findings, surgical techniques, and outcomes. Results: The patients, aged between 11 and 50 years, presented with slow-growing, painless cervical masses, with the largest tumour measuring 194 mm in its greatest diameter. The lipomas were predominantly located in the posterior cervical triangle. CT suggested a benign appearance of the tumours and provided detailed information about their extent and relationship to surrounding structures. All patients underwent complete surgical excision under general anaesthesia. No perioperative complications or recurrences were observed during the follow-up period. Conclusion: Giant cervical lipomas, though rare, should be considered in the differential diagnosis of large cervical swellings. Detailed clinical and radiological evaluation followed by meticulous surgical excision can ensure favourable outcomes. This case series emphasises the importance of early intervention and the role of multidisciplinary collaboration in management.

Published in	International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology (Volume 11, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijo.20251102.14
Page(s)	24-27
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Lipoma, Giant, Neck, Cervical Tumour

1. Introduction

Giant lipomas are defined as tumours measuring at least 10 cm in diameter or weighing 1,000 grams or more. They are rare compared to classical lipomas, which are typically smaller in size. Lipomas are the most frequently encountered soft tissue tumours

[1-3]

. Due to their substantial volume, giant lipomas pose particular challenges, especially with regard to the potential compression of adjacent structures and aesthetic concerns, complicating both their diagnosis and management

[3, 4]

. The study of such cases offers valuable insight into their clinical presentation, diagnostic approach, and appropriate therapeutic strategies.

2. Materials and Methods

We present a series of six cases of giant cervical lipomas. Patient characteristics, clinical and radiological findings, and treatment strategies were described.

3. Results

Patient age ranged from 11 to 50 years. No signs of vascular, nerve, or upper aerodigestive tract compression were observed. The tumours were located in the posterior cervical triangle in five patients and in the anterior cervical region in one patient. Clinical and radiological data are summarised in Table 1.

Table 1. Patient characteristics and imaging findings.

Case	Sex	Age (years)	Disease duration (months)	Size (largest diameter) mm)
1	F	32	52	121
2	M	40	108	125
3	M	36	54	114
4	M	50	180	194
5	F	42	62	142
6	F	11	84	185

All patients underwent a cervical computed tomography (CT) scan, which showed well-demarcated, lobulated, hypodense, non-enhancing lesions (Figure 1).

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Figure 1. CT scan showing well-demarcated, hypodense, non-enhancing lesions in the neck consistent with a cervical lipoma.

All patients underwent complete surgical excision of the tumour via cervicotomy (Figure 2). No intraoperative complications were reported. Structures found in contact with the lipoma during surgery included the spinal accessory nerve, hypoglossal nerve, submandibular gland, thyroid gland, carotid artery, internal jugular vein, vagus nerve, and deep branches of the cervical plexus. Histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of lipoma in all cases. Long-term follow-up showed favourable outcomes in all patients.

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Figure 2. Intraoperative view of lipoma excision. (A) Contact with the submandibular region; (B) Exposure of the carotid artery, vagus nerve, and deep cervical plexus.

4. Discussion

Lipomas are among the most common mesenchymal tumours

[2]

. Most giant cervical lipomas develop slowly and remain asymptomatic, often presenting primarily as an aesthetic concern. However, in our cases, the substantial size of the tumours significantly affected patients' quality of life and physical appearance

[2, 5, 6]

Lipomas typically occur during the fifth or sixth decades of life. Approximately 13% of cases are localised in the head and neck region, with a predominance in the posterior cervical area, as observed in our series. Anterior cervical involvement is rare, and extension into the thoracic cavity is even less frequent

[4, 7-9]

. Notably, all patients in our study were relatively young, which contrasts with the findings of Ndukwe et al., who reported a male predominance and presentation mostly in the fifth and sixth decades

[10, 11]

Radiological imaging, particularly CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) plays a critical role in the management of these tumours. CT is helpful in assessing the size and extension of the mass. Lipomas appear as homogeneous, well-defined, non-enhancing hypodense lesions. On MRI, they show hyperintensity on T1-weighted sequences and fast spin-echo T2-weighted sequences, providing better delineation

[1]

A major diagnostic challenge lies in distinguishing a benign giant lipoma from a well-differentiated liposarcoma. Lesions larger than 10 cm, those located in deep planes, or showing rapid recent growth, raise suspicion of malignancy. Therefore, the possibility of a liposarcoma must always be considered preoperatively, as its management requires wider excision with sufficient margins

[2, 12, 13]

Most lipomas are encapsulated, which facilitates their removal if dissection is performed along the correct surgical plane. However, caution is required as giant lipomas may distort normal cervical anatomy, increasing the risk of injury to adjacent neurovascular structures during surgery

[2, 3, 14, 15]

5. Conclusions

Although rare, giant lipomas can pose significant diagnostic and surgical challenges due to their large size and proximity to critical anatomical structures. In this series of six patients, the lipomas were voluminous but did not cause clinical signs of compression. Our findings highlight the importance of thorough imaging, careful surgical dissection, and precise histological assessment to avoid complications. Further studies are warranted to refine management approaches for giant lipomas.

Abbreviations

CT	Computed Tomography

Acknowledgments

This section serves to recognize contributions that do not meet authorship criteria, including technical assistance, donations, or organizational aid. Individuals or organizations should be acknowledged with their full names. The acknowledgments should be placed after the conclusion and before the references section in the manuscript.

Author Contributions

Nogognan Ignace Lengane: Conceptualization, Writing – original draft

Ibrahim Savadogo: Data curation, Writing – review & editing

Judicaël Marouruana Milkisedek Somé: Data curation, Writing – review & editing

Arsène Coulibaly: Data curation, Writing – review & editing

Noe Zaghre: Writing – review & editing

Bertin Priva Ouedraogo: Validation

Funding

This work is not supported by any external funding.

Data Availability Statement

The data is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Bancroft LW, Kransdorf M, Peterson J, O’Connor M. Benign fatty tumors: classification, clinical course, imaging appearance, and treatment. Skeletal Radiol. 35: 719-33.
[2]	Cukic O. Giant Lipoma of the Anterior Neck Causing Dyspnea. The Journal of Craniofacial Surgery. 2020; 31(6): 553-5.
[3]	Derin A, Güney K, Turhan M, Erdoğan A, Ağırdır B. Giant cervical lipoma invading carotid artery: a case report. Kulak Burun Bogaz Ihtis Derg. 2009; 19(1): 28-39.
[4]	Eryılmaz M, Yücel A, Yücel H, Arıcıgil M. Cervico-Thoracic Giant Lipoma in a Child. Turk Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2016; 54: 82-5.
[5]	Medina C, Schneider S, Mitra A, Spears J, Mitra A. Giant submental lipoma: Case report and review of the literature. Can J Plast Surg. 2007; 15(4): 219-22.
[6]	Li Y, Tsai W, Chen Y. Huge lipoma in the left submandibular region. J Dent Sci. 2019; 14(3): 330-1.
[7]	Petruzzi G, Trozzi L, Moretto S, De Virgilio A, Melis E, Gallina F, et al. An unusual approach for a cervical mass - sternotomy for the treatment of a giant cervico-thoracic lipoma. Acta Biomed. 2021; 92(6): 1-6.
[8]	Rana K, Meher R, Singh I, Narula V, Sura J. Lipoma in unusual head and neck region: Case series of 4 patients. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology Extra. 2013; 8(3): 75-8.
[9]	Najaf Y, Cartier C, Favier V, Garrel R. Symptomatic head and neck lipomas. Eur Ann Otosssrhinolaryngol Head Neck Dis. 2019; 136(2): 127-9.
[10]	Ndukwe K, Ugboko V, Somotun G, Adebiyi K. A clinicopathological study of lipomas of the head and neck. Nigerian Journal of Surgical Research. 2003; 5: 12-7.
[11]	Schranz A, Riordan F, Dolan R, Lawlor C, Morrison C, O’Toole G, et al. Retrospective analysis of radiological investigation of surgically excised head and neck lipomas. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2024; 281(8): 4333-9.
[12]	Ralli M, De Vincentiis M, Greco A. First, Rule Out Cancer: Giant Lipoma. The American Journal of Medicine. 2018; 131(2): 146-7.
[13]	Woo S, Hong K, Chang H. Giant Ventral Lipoma of the Neck. J Craniofac Surg. 2020; 31(5): e501-3.
[14]	Du A, Wang H, Dai J, Dong Q, Yuan G, Pan Y. Case report: a case report of excision of giant lipoma in the posterior neck. Front Oncol. 2024; 14: 1395130.
[15]	Elakhiri M, Darouassi Y, Oukabli M, Jahidi A, Benariba F. Prise en charge d’un lipome cervical géant: à propos d’un cas et revue de la littérature. Pan Afr Med J. 2021; 39: 100.

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APA Style

Lengane, N. I., Savadogo, I., Somé, J. M. M., Coulibaly, A., Zaghre, N., et al. (2025). Giant Cervical Lipomas: Case Series and Literature Review. International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology, 11(2), 24-27. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijo.20251102.14

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ACS Style

Lengane, N. I.; Savadogo, I.; Somé, J. M. M.; Coulibaly, A.; Zaghre, N., et al. Giant Cervical Lipomas: Case Series and Literature Review. Int. J. Otorhinolaryngol. 2025, 11(2), 24-27. doi: 10.11648/j.ijo.20251102.14

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AMA Style

Lengane NI, Savadogo I, Somé JMM, Coulibaly A, Zaghre N, et al. Giant Cervical Lipomas: Case Series and Literature Review. Int J Otorhinolaryngol. 2025;11(2):24-27. doi: 10.11648/j.ijo.20251102.14

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@article{10.11648/j.ijo.20251102.14,
author = {Nogognan Ignace Lengane and Ibrahim Savadogo and Judicaël Marouruana Milkisedek Somé and Arsène Coulibaly and Noe Zaghre and Bertin Priva Ouedraogo},
title = {Giant Cervical Lipomas: Case Series and Literature Review
},
journal = {International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology},
volume = {11},
number = {2},
pages = {24-27},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijo.20251102.14},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijo.20251102.14},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijo.20251102.14},
abstract = {Background: Giant lipomas of the neck are rare, slow-growing benign tumours of adipose tissue that may pose significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Their large size may result in cosmetic deformities or compression of adjacent vital cervical structures, making early diagnosis and appropriate surgical management essential. Objective: This study aims to describe the clinical, radiological, and surgical features of giant cervical lipomas based on a case series, and to provide a brief review of the relevant literature. Methods: We retrospectively analysed six cases of giant cervical lipomas managed in the ENT Department of the Regional University Hospital of Ouahigouya. Data collected included demographic characteristics, clinical presentation, tumour dimensions, radiological findings, surgical techniques, and outcomes. Results: The patients, aged between 11 and 50 years, presented with slow-growing, painless cervical masses, with the largest tumour measuring 194 mm in its greatest diameter. The lipomas were predominantly located in the posterior cervical triangle. CT suggested a benign appearance of the tumours and provided detailed information about their extent and relationship to surrounding structures. All patients underwent complete surgical excision under general anaesthesia. No perioperative complications or recurrences were observed during the follow-up period. Conclusion: Giant cervical lipomas, though rare, should be considered in the differential diagnosis of large cervical swellings. Detailed clinical and radiological evaluation followed by meticulous surgical excision can ensure favourable outcomes. This case series emphasises the importance of early intervention and the role of multidisciplinary collaboration in management.},
year = {2025}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Giant Cervical Lipomas: Case Series and Literature Review

AU - Nogognan Ignace Lengane
AU - Ibrahim Savadogo
AU - Judicaël Marouruana Milkisedek Somé
AU - Arsène Coulibaly
AU - Noe Zaghre
AU - Bertin Priva Ouedraogo
Y1 - 2025/08/13
PY - 2025
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijo.20251102.14
DO - 10.11648/j.ijo.20251102.14
T2 - International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology
JF - International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology
JO - International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology
SP - 24
EP - 27
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2472-2413
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijo.20251102.14
AB - Background: Giant lipomas of the neck are rare, slow-growing benign tumours of adipose tissue that may pose significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Their large size may result in cosmetic deformities or compression of adjacent vital cervical structures, making early diagnosis and appropriate surgical management essential. Objective: This study aims to describe the clinical, radiological, and surgical features of giant cervical lipomas based on a case series, and to provide a brief review of the relevant literature. Methods: We retrospectively analysed six cases of giant cervical lipomas managed in the ENT Department of the Regional University Hospital of Ouahigouya. Data collected included demographic characteristics, clinical presentation, tumour dimensions, radiological findings, surgical techniques, and outcomes. Results: The patients, aged between 11 and 50 years, presented with slow-growing, painless cervical masses, with the largest tumour measuring 194 mm in its greatest diameter. The lipomas were predominantly located in the posterior cervical triangle. CT suggested a benign appearance of the tumours and provided detailed information about their extent and relationship to surrounding structures. All patients underwent complete surgical excision under general anaesthesia. No perioperative complications or recurrences were observed during the follow-up period. Conclusion: Giant cervical lipomas, though rare, should be considered in the differential diagnosis of large cervical swellings. Detailed clinical and radiological evaluation followed by meticulous surgical excision can ensure favourable outcomes. This case series emphasises the importance of early intervention and the role of multidisciplinary collaboration in management.
VL - 11
IS - 2
ER -

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Author Information

Nogognan Ignace Lengane

Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Ouahigouya University Hospital, Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso. School of Medecine, Lédea Bernard Ouédraogo University, Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso

Research Fields: rhinology, otology, head and neck surgery, laryngology, pediatric Otolaryngology

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9518-0240
Ibrahim Savadogo

Department of Anatomic Pathology, Ouahigouya University Hospital, Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso. School of Medecine, Lédea Bernard Ouédraogo University, Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso

Research Fields: head and neck pathology, Breast Pathology, Liver Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Melanoma

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0009-0007-3876-7716
Judicaël Marouruana Milkisedek Somé

Department of Radiology, Ouahigouya University Hospital, Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso. School of Medecine, Lédea Bernard Ouédraogo University, Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso

Research Fields: Oncologic Imaging, Interventional Radiology, Neuroimaging, Emergency Radiology, Tele-radiology

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7617-5956
Arsène Coulibaly

Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Ouahigouya University Hospital, Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso. School of Medecine, Lédea Bernard Ouédraogo University, Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso

Research Fields: facial plastic surgery, salivary glands, Temporomandibular Joint Disorders, Facial Injuries and Deformities, Oral Head & Neck Cancer

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0009-0002-3330-1945
Noe Zaghre

Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Tingandogo University Hospital, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. School of Medecine, Joseph Ki-Zerbo University, Ouagdougou, Burkina Faso

Research Fields: rhinology, Reconstructive and Plastic Surgery, head and neck surgery, laryngology, pediatric Otolaryngology

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5275-6967
Bertin Priva Ouedraogo

Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Tingandogo University Hospital, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. School of Medecine, Joseph Ki-Zerbo University, Ouagdougou, Burkina Faso

Research Fields: rhinology, Reconstructive and Plastic Surgery, head and neck surgery, laryngology, pediatric Otolaryngology

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0009-0009-5822-6532

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Table 1

Table 1. Patient characteristics and imaging findings.

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Lengane, N. I., Savadogo, I., Somé, J. M. M., Coulibaly, A., Zaghre, N., et al. (2025). Giant Cervical Lipomas: Case Series and Literature Review. International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology, 11(2), 24-27. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijo.20251102.14

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ACS Style

Lengane, N. I.; Savadogo, I.; Somé, J. M. M.; Coulibaly, A.; Zaghre, N., et al. Giant Cervical Lipomas: Case Series and Literature Review. Int. J. Otorhinolaryngol. 2025, 11(2), 24-27. doi: 10.11648/j.ijo.20251102.14

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AMA Style

Lengane NI, Savadogo I, Somé JMM, Coulibaly A, Zaghre N, et al. Giant Cervical Lipomas: Case Series and Literature Review. Int J Otorhinolaryngol. 2025;11(2):24-27. doi: 10.11648/j.ijo.20251102.14

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Giant Cervical Lipomas: Case Series and Literature Review

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