Sialolipoma: An interesting and rare tumor of the submandibular gland

Satvinder Singh Bakshi; Anandraj K Vaithy

doi:10.4103/ijofb.ijofb_10_18

CASE REPORT

Year : 2018 | Volume : 2 | Issue : 2 | Page : 56-57

Sialolipoma: An interesting and rare tumor of the submandibular gland

Satvinder Singh Bakshi¹, Anandraj K Vaithy²
¹ Department of ENT and Head and Neck Surgery, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, Puducherry, India
² Department of Pathology, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, Puducherry, India

Date of Web Publication

24-Jun-2019

Correspondence Address:
Satvinder Singh Bakshi
Department of ENT and Head and Neck Surgery, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, Puducherry
India

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None

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DOI: 10.4103/ijofb.ijofb_10_18

Abstract

Salivary glands containing coexisting lipomatous lesions are rare and have only been identified recently as a distinct entity; one of these lesions is a sialolipoma. The characteristic feature of these tumors is a benign proliferation of mature adipose tissue along with normal salivary gland features. We describe a case of a slowly enlarging mass in the submandibular region of a 45-year-old male which on excision was reported as sialolipoma

Keywords: Lipoma, sialolipoma, submandibular gland

How to cite this article:
Bakshi SS, Vaithy AK. Sialolipoma: An interesting and rare tumor of the submandibular gland. Int J Orofac Biol 2018;2:56-7

How to cite this URL:
Bakshi SS, Vaithy AK. Sialolipoma: An interesting and rare tumor of the submandibular gland. Int J Orofac Biol [serial online] 2018 [cited 2023 Jun 3];2:56-7. Available from: https://www.ijofb.org/text.asp?2018/2/2/56/261158

Introduction

A 48-year-old male patient presented with a 5-month history of a gradually progressive swelling on the left side of his neck. There was no pain or increase in size on taking food. On examination, a 4 cm × 3 cm, firm, bidigitally palpable swelling was seen in the right submandibular region [Figure 1]. The submandibular duct was normal, and no neck nodes were palpable. Fine-needle aspiration cytology from the mass was reported as pleomorphic adenoma. A submandibular sialoadenectomy was performed, and the histopathology revealed salivary gland tissue along with the proliferation of mature adipose tissue, with thin fibrous tissue septa suggestive of sialolipoma [Figure 2]. The patient is on regular follow-up, and there is no evidence of recurrence at 15 months of follow-up. Lipoma is the most common soft-tissue tumor of adulthood. Although they are common in the head-and-neck area, they are quite rare in the salivary glands with maximum cases reported in the parotid gland.^[1],[2],[3] Lipomas are classified as simple lipoma, fibrolipoma, angiolipoma, spindle cell lipoma, and pleomorphic lipoma. Sialolipoma was first described by Nagao et al., in 2001,^[1],[2] as a rare and a newer variant of salivary gland tumors. It is a benign lipomatous growth of the salivary glands with mature adipose tissue and represents only 0.3% of all salivary gland tumors in adults.^[3] Microscopically, the differential diagnosis includes lesions with extensive adipose tissue proliferation, such as lipomatosis and pleomorphic adenoma with extensive adipose content.^[3],[4] On the basis of the benign nature of sialolipoma, conservative surgical excision has been regarded to suffice as treatment, and neither local recurrence nor malignant transformation has been reported.^[5]

Figure 1: Patient with the right submandibular swelling

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Figure 2: Histopathology showing fibrosis of glandular parenchyma, acinar atrophy proliferation of mature adipocytes, and dense inflammatory cell infiltration (H and E, ×40)

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Conclusion

We present a case of sialolipoma of the submandibular gland, which is extremely rare. Only a high index of suspicion and detailed histological study can lead to the definitive diagnosis of this tumor. Sialolipoma although a rare, should be kept in mind during differential diagnosis of lesions of the submandibular gland, showing lipomatous proliferation.

Declaration of patient consent

The authors certify that they have obtained all appropriate patient consent forms. In the form the patient(s) has/have given his/her/their consent for his/her/their images and other clinical information to be reported in the journal. The patients understand that their names and initials will not be published and due efforts will be made to conceal their identity, but anonymity cannot be guaranteed.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

References

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2.	Qayyum S, Meacham R, Sebelik M, Zafar N. Sialolipoma of the parotid gland: Case report with literature review comparing major and minor salivary gland sialolipomas. J Oral Maxillofac Pathol 2013;17:95-7. [PUBMED] [Full text]
3.	Jang YW, Kim SG, Pai H, Park JW, Lee YC, Rotaru H, et al. Sialolipoma: Case report and review of 27 cases. Oral Maxillofac Surg 2009;13:109-13.
4.	Agaimy A, Ihrler S, Märkl B, Lell M, Zenk J, Hartmann A, et al. Lipomatous salivary gland tumors: A series of 31 cases spanning their morphologic spectrum with emphasis on sialolipoma and oncocytic lipoadenoma. Am J Surg Pathol 2013;37:128-37.
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