title: Sonographic appearances of superficial soft tissue lipomas.
abstract: High-resolution real-time sonography was used to evaluate 35 superficial soft tissue lipomas. Thirty were located in subcutaneous tissues and 5 in superficial muscles. The lipomas were assessed for location, shape and size, boundaries, echotexture, homogeneity, and sound through transmission. All were elongated, with their greatest diameter parallel to the skin. Twenty-three lipomas (66%) showed a homogenous echotexture. Twenty-one (60%) were well defined, and the remainder showed ill-defined margins blending into the surrounding tissues. Twenty-nine percent of the lipomas were hypoechoic, 22% were isoechoic, 29% were hyperechoic, and 20% showed a mixed pattern. An elongated isoechoic or echogenic mass in the subcutaneous tissues should suggest the diagnosis of lipoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston 77030.
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Fornage
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Tassin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D008067:Lipoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012983:Soft Tissue Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014463:Ultrasonography