Limited excision of a right atrial lipoma

A 67-year-old female presented with a 1-year history of exertional dyspnoea. Echocardiography showed a mass in the right atrium. Surgery revealed a lipoma on the interatrial septum, near the superior cavoatrial junction. This was excised leaving the atrial septum intact. Histopathology confirmed a benign lipoma. The patient improved symptomatically after surgery and no recurrence was seen after 1 year. These rare masses are the accumulation of mature adipose tissue, arising from the subepicardial layer. Due to benign pathology and slow growth, right atrial lipomas may be resected without interatrial septum resection, avoiding the potential complications of more radical surgery.