[The diagnosis of salivary gland lipoma]

8 patients with 9 lipomas of the salivary gland were reviewed retrospectively. The clinical diagnosis, the sonomorphology and the appearance in CT were analysed. By means of palpation none of the lipomas was specifically diagnosed. Usually sonography is the first imaging method in superficial salivary gland tumors. Therefore the knowledge of the sonomorphology is important for indicating CT. Sonographically a lipoma of the salivary gland should be suspected, if an oval shaped, slightly hypoechoic tumor with a typical feathered appearance and good compressibility is visualized. All lipomas of the salivary glands could be delineated sonographically. Due to their negative homogeneous attenuation values lipomas can be diagnosed specifically in CT. This enables the head and neck surgeon to avoid an operation in patients with no or minor complaints.