[Oropharyngeal angiolipoma: a case study].

Area of Science:

• Head and Neck Surgery
• Oral Pathology
• Surgical Oncology

Background:

• Angiolipoma represents a histological variant of lipoma, occurring in 17% of lipoma cases.
• Cervicofacial localization of angiolipoma is infrequent, with limited reported cases in the head and neck region.
• Oropharyngeal angiolipoma is exceptionally rare, with no prior documented instances in medical literature.

Observation:

• A pedunculated angiolipoma was identified in a 44-year-old male patient.
• The tumor presented as a red-violaceous growth on the tongue's upper surface, measuring 13 cm in length and 1 cm in diameter.
• The implantation base was located on the left posterior-lateral oropharyngeal wall, inferior to the tonsil.

Findings:

• Surgical removal was performed using a serreneoud loop under direct visualization.
• Histological examination revealed a non-infiltrating angiolipoma variant.
• Simple excision of the non-infiltrating type is curative with a low recurrence rate.

Implications:

• The successful removal of this oropharyngeal angiolipoma expands the known anatomical locations for this tumor.
• Distinguishing between infiltrating and non-infiltrating angiolipomas is crucial for surgical planning and prognosis.
• Management of infiltrating angiolipomas requires wider resection margins to minimize high recurrence rates (approx. 50%).