[Lipid islands in the esophagus]

Lipid islets (xanthomas, xanthelasmas) occur rather frequently in gastric mucosa; such islets have been described in the esophagus just recently. We have observed such a patient. As has been the case in the first patient described, the islets were located in the middle part of the esophagus and appeared during endoscopy as flat, yellowish elevations. On biopsy, foam-cell macrophages were found in the tunica propria of the esophageal mucosa. Pathogenesis of the lipid islets in our patient could be caused by a disturbance of carbohydrate and fat metabolism.