A rare case of lipoma: lipoma of the tongue

The lipomas have rarely been seen in tongue though they are the most seen types of tissue tumors. Oral cavity lipomas are masses usually seen after third and four decades of the life. Intraoral lipomas are often seen as rounded or ovoid submucosal nodules that have been placed in buccal mucosa, buccal sulcus, retromolar region and mouth floor for a long time. In general, they are encapsulated and typically discriminated with demarcation line from the environmental tissues. According to their diameters, they can cause difficulties in speaking, chewing and swallowing. Ranula, dermoid cysts, thyroglossal duct cysts, ectopic thyroid tissues, pleomorphic adenoma, mycoepidermoid carcinoma and lymphomas should be kept in mind in distinctive diagnose of lipomas. The treatment of lipomas is surgical and the definitive diagnose is made by histopathologic evaluation. In this case, we present a lipoma lying deeply in the left lateral side of the tongue.