Abstract

Objective: Lipomas are the most common type of soft-tissue tumor found in the body. Very few of the benign tumors of the hand are classified as lipomas. Also, giant lipomas of the hand are extremely rare. The goal of this study was to present the cases of patients suffering from giant lipomas of the hand.
Methods: 5 patients (3 females and 2 males) with giant lipomas of the hand were treated in our clinic between January 2012 and April 2014. Patients with lipomatous tumors of the hand having diameters equal or greater than 5 centimeters were included in our study. Both preoperatively and postoperatively, physical examination and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were used for diagnosis and determination of any residual mass. In the first month, the patients’ satisfaction rates were evaluated.
Results: All 5 patients were operated upon. The mean age was 60.6 years. Postoperatively (1st month), no residual masses were found. The satisfaction rates of all patients in the 1st month were 100%.
Conclusion: Giant lipomas of the hand are very rare and may cause compressions and other complications. Thus, they require a careful preoperative evaluation in order to make a proper differential diagnosis.

Key words: Giant lipoma, hand, upper extremity