An Unusual Lipoma at the Lateral Margin of the Tongue: A Case Report

Lipoma is a common benign mesenchymal tumor, but oral lipomas account for only 1%-4% of all lipomas, with lingual lateral margin lipomas being an even rarer subtype. A 53-year-old female presented with a 1-year history of a slow-growing, painless, and pale yellow submucosal mass on the left lateral tongue (1.5-cm in diameter). Preoperative contrast-enhanced maxillofacial CT suggested a cystic space-occupying lesion, and minimally invasive resection was performed under local anesthesia. Histopathological examination confirmed a classic lipoma with mature, uniformly arranged adipocytes and no atypia. The patient had uneventful wound healing, no postoperative complications, and no recurrence at 3-week follow-up, with full recovery of tongue function. Literature review indicated that contrast-enhanced CT combined with typical clinical signs improves preoperative diagnostic accuracy, and minimally invasive local resection is a safe, effective treatment for small lingual lipomas. This case adds new clinical evidence for small lipomas of the lateral tongue and improves the dataset of this rare tumor subtype, offering guidance for clinical practice. This report also reminds clinicians that soft yellow nodules on the tongue margin cannot be simply diagnosed as cysts according to CT hypodensity alone. Combined clinical and radiological assessment is mandatory, and local minimally invasive surgery is the optimal option for these small lesions.