Infiltrating lipomas of the upper extremities

The typical lipoma is an encapsulated subdermal tumor, usually easily removed if necessary. We recently encountered two lipomas that infiltrated muscles of the forearm. Excision of infiltrating lipomas may be complicated by their deep location and potential involvement of vascular and neural structures. This paper should increase dermatologists' awareness of this uncommon variant and facilitate appropriate referral for definitive treatment. We believe that this is the first report in the dermatologic literature of infiltrating lipoma of the upper extremity.