Intraosseous angiolipoma of the mandible

The angiolipoma is an uncommon histologic variant of lipomas, accounts for 5-17% of lipomas. Intraosseous lipomas of the jaws are extremely rare. The aim of the present article is to report and discuss another case of intramandibular angiolipoma.

A 66-year-old man was referred to the Dentistry Department for the diagnosis and treatment of a lesion in the mandible. Past medical history included HIV positivity. The patient was asymptomatic. A CT scan revealed the incidental finding of a well-defined radiolucent image in the right body of the mandible, in the edentulous first molar / second premolar region, with sclerotic margins, and in contact with the mandibular canal, that was preserved. A conservative enucleation under local anesthesia was decided, together with the patient. Histopathological findings were consistent with the diagnosis of angiolipoma.

Clinically, most intraosseous lipomas are asymptomatic, including the present case. Histological findings are essential for the diagnosis of intraosseous angiolipoma: mature neoplastic adipocytes streaked with numerous interspersed vascular spaces / blood vessels surrounded by mast cells and filled with red cells and several fibrous microthrombi are characteristics of angiolipomas.

The diagnosis of intraosseous angiolipomas of the jaws may be difficult due to their rarity and it requires a histopathological examination.