Lipomas after blunt soft tissue trauma: are they real?
Background Soft tissue trauma and lipomas are common occurrences in surgical practice. Lipomas are defined as benign tumours of adipose tissue with so far unexplained pathogenesis and aetiology. A link between preceding blunt soft tissue trauma at the site of the tumour and the formation of lipomas has been described earlier. These soft tissue tumours have been named ‘post-traumatic lipomas’. Objectives In a retrospective review, to analyse all patients with benign adipose tissue tumours treated at our institution between August 2001 and January 2007. Methods All cases were reviewed regarding medical history, magnetic resonance imaging findings, intraoperative findings, clinical chemistry and histology. Results In 170 patients presenting with lipomas, 34 lipomas in 31 patients were identified as post-traumatic. The mean +/- SD age of the patients with post-traumatic lipomas was 52 +/- 14.5 years. The mean time elapsed between soft tissue trauma and lipoma formation was 2.0 years (range