[Endobronchial lipomas. Apropos of 16 cases]

Intrabronchial lipomas are rare and benign tumours. Sixteen cases treated between 1956 and 1988 at the Marie Lannelongue Surgical Centre, Paris, are reviewed. The patients presented with various symptoms such as cough, haemoptysis, infection or dyspnoea. Radiography was abnormal in 15 cases, and the lesion was regularly located at bronchoscopy. Treatment was chiefly surgical. Owing to the slow and silent growth of intrabronchial lipomas, there is a risk of progressive bronchial obstruction resulting in bronchopulmonary lesions. With an early detection, treatment should be as conservative as possible.