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David Steckman, BA; Barry Zide, MD, DMD; M. Alba Greco, MD; Rafael Rivera, MD; Francine Blei, MD

Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2005;7:326-330.

Lipoblastomas are rare benign tumors of infancy that usually affect children younger than 3 years. Most lipoblastomas (70%) occur on the extremities. Lipoblastomas may mimic other infantile tumors, including hemangiomas, hibernomas, lipomas, and liposarcomas, and correct diagnosis is necessary to ensure appropriate treatment. Lipoblastomas fall under 2 discrete subtypes: well-circumscribed lipoblastomas and diffuse lipoblastomatosis. Both types present with firm, nontender masses of lobulated, well-circumscribed soft tissue. Histologically they can be highly vascularized with plexiform capillaries, often with an individual feeder artery to each lobule. Complete surgical removal is the recommended treatment. Only 2 cases of lipoblastomas of the cheek have been reported in the English-language literature. We present the case of a young child with a cheek lipoblastoma, emphasizing the importance of correct diagnosis and highlighting techniques used to provide suitable treatment.

Author Affiliations: Departments of Pediatrics (Mr Steckman and Dr Blei), Surgery (Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery) (Drs Zide and Blei), Pathology (Dr Greco), and Radiology (Dr Rivera), NYU Medical Center, New York, NY.