Osteolipoma of the skull base

Abstract

Although lipomas are the most common benign tumours of the head and neck, the involvement of the skull base is rare and it is also very rare for a lipoma to undergo osseous metaplasia to become an ossifying lipoma or osteolipoma. We present a case of a solitary osteolipoma involving the skull base in a 17-year-old girl. A few cases of osteolipoma involving the head and neck have been reported, but this may be the first reported case of a solitary osteolipoma involving the skull base with extension to the infratemporal fossa and parapharyngeal space. The computed tomography (CT) scan helped to clinch the diagnosis and the histopathology confirmed it. The clinical presentation, role of CT scan, surgical approach used, histological features and the review of literature are discussed.