title: Benign symmetric lipomatosis (Madelung's disease).
abstract: Benign symmetric lipomatosis, also known as Madelung's disease, is a rare condition characterized by massive fatty deposits arranged symmetrically around the neck, shoulders, and arms. These patients might present for liposuction and body contouring. Although infrequently encountered in the average plastic surgeon's practice, this condition should be considered when evaluating candidates for these procedures. The deformity is associated with chronic alcohol use and also with malignant tumors of the upper airways. The deformity is prone to recurrence and its surgical treatment often results in less than optimal aesthetic outcomes. Despite this fact, surgical removal via either direct excision or suction-assisted lipectomy provides the only real hope of palliation. This report describes a patient with this deformity and a review of the literature.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Surgery, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA.
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: W K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Stadelmann
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Wassermann
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Kearney
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015187:Lipectomy; D008069:Lipomatosis, Multiple Symmetrical / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D008875:Middle Aged; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed