Case report of transoral excision of a right buccal/jugal lipoma
Fabrizio Murru, Louis Peszek, Flavia D’Angelo, Taylan Lucay, Gilles Dolivet, Romina MastronicolaIntroduction:
Lipomas are benign mesenchymal tumors that rarely occur in the oral cavity. Lesions arising in the jugal region may pose diagnostic and surgical challenges due to their anatomical location. We report a case of a jugal lipoma successfully managed through a transoral approach, highlighting the clinical and esthetic advantages of this approach.
Case presentation:
A 74-year-old man was referred to our service for evaluation of a soft submucosal mass in the right jugal area, with no related symptoms but that had steadily enlarged during the previous year. The differential diagnosis of a soft submucosal mass in this region is broad, encompassing lipomatous lesions, salivary gland tumors, vascular malformations, and cystic lesions, among others, making accurate preoperative assessment essential. Facial soft-tissue ultrasonography revealed a well-demarcated, homogeneous, hypoechoic lesion consistent with a lipoma. We report a case of a jugal lipoma successfully managed through a transoral approach, highlighting the diagnostic workup, surgical technique, and esthetic advantages of this minimally invasive strategy.
Clinical discussion:
The right jugal lipoma was successfully excised via a transoral approach under general anesthesia, with complete removal achieved through blunt dissection, resulting in excellent cosmetic and functional outcomes and minimal morbidity. Further histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of conventional lipoma.
Conclusion:
Transoral excision of jugal lipomas provides excellent esthetic outcomes, with no visible scarring and a low recurrence rate following complete excision. The intraoral approach is a safe and effective option for appropriately selected cases.