Spontaneous shrinkage of lumbosacral lipoma in conjunction with a general decrease in body fat: case report.
OBJECTIVE
We describe a rare case of a lumbosacral lipoma that shrank spontaneously in parallel to a general loss of body fat. Although early prophylactic surgery is generally recommended for lumbosacral lipomas, the observation made in this case may provide an important implication regarding the conservative management of this disorder.


METHODS
A 9-year-old male patient with a subcutaneous lipoma at the sacral level was found to have a lumbosacral lipoma in the spinal canal and tethered spinal cord, as revealed by magnetic resonance imaging. The patient showed no neurological or urological deficits, except for a mild pes cavus deformity.


METHODS
Follow-up magnetic resonance imaging performed 4 years later revealed a significant decrease in the size of the lumbosacral lipoma. The patient became very thin and showed no neurological deterioration during the follow-up period. The shrinkage of the lipoma was considered to be in association with the general loss of body fat.


CONCLUSIONS
The control of body weight may be an important factor in the conservative management of patients with lumbosacral spinal lipomas.
Endoh
M
M
Department of Neurosurgery, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
Iwasaki
Y
Y
Koyanagi
I
I
Hida
K
K
Abe
H
H
D002648:Child; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008067:Lipoma / Q000473:pathology*; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009365:Neoplasm Regression, Spontaneous / Q000473:pathology*; D012447:Sacrum / Q000473:pathology*; D016136:Spina Bifida Occulta / Q000473:pathology; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D015431:Weight Loss / Q000502:physiology*