Osteolipoma of the buccal mucosa: a case report

Lipomas are benign mesenchymal neoplasms of soft tissue that can be found commonly in any part of the human body. Their presence in the oral mucosa is uncommon, however, with approximately 4% of the cases occurring in the oral cavity. Oral lipomas are likely to have originated from mature adipose tissue and there are several histological variants of lipomas described, which are identified according to the predominant type of tissue in addition to adipose tissue. A rare lipoma variant, known as an osteolipoma or an ossifying lipoma, may occur; however, little has been written this type of lipoma characterized by a classical lipoma with areas of osseous metaplasia. This paper describes a case of an osteolipoma involving the buccal mucosa of an adult patient.