Laparoscopic-assisted resection of giant sigmoid lipoma under colonoscopic guidance

Colonic lipomata are rare and mostly asymptomatic lesions; but as they become larger they may produce abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, hemorrhage, and intussusception. We report the case of a 75-year-old man who suffered from nonspecific recurrent abdominal pain in the left upper and lower quadrants and had variable episodes of diarrhea and constipation of 4 weeks' duration. During colonoscopy, a giant intraluminal polyp was diagnosed at 35 cm. Abdominal helical computed tomography (CT) revealed a constipating colonic tumor with a diameter of >or=50 mm and density values equal to fat. During laparoscopic surgery in the lithotomy position, the sigmoid and the descending colon were mobilized using a Harmonic scalpel. The origin of the polyp was localized precisely under colonoscopic guidance. The former 12-mm incision in the left lower quadrant was expanded to approximately 70 mm for extracorporal tumor resection. The left and sigmoid colon resections were carried out, and the polyp was removed by full-wall excision. After closure with a single-layer suture, the colon was pushed back into the peritoneal cavity. The patient had an uneventful recovery and was discharged 10 days postoperatively. Histology confirmed a benign lipoma of the descending colon. Laparoscopic-assisted resection under endoscopic guidance proved to be suitable for the removal of large colonic polyps without complications.