title: Pediatric lipoblastoma of the neck.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lipoblastoma is a rare, benign, and encapsulated tumor arising from embryonic white fat. Most of the cases occur in the extremities and the trunk; only a few cases in the head and the neck are reported. Thus, we present a case of lipoblastoma of the neck with a review of the literature.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 1-year-old male infant presented to our hospital, with a history of painless swelling in the left side of the neck for 3 months that was rapidly enlarged. His birth history and medical history were unremarkable. A physical examination demonstrated a soft and compressible mass in the left side of the neck. The mass was nontender to palpation and mobile without cellulitic changes in the overlying skin. A computed tomographic scan showed that the mass is heterogenous, has low attenuation in nature, and is 3.8 × 2.8 × 9 cm in size.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Under general anesthesia, transverse cervical incision was made through the neck wrinkle, and there was no invasion of any of the neck structures. Complete surgical excision demonstrated yellowish-white, irregular lobules of immature fat cells separated by a loose and myxoid connective tissue. Grossly, the mass was a homogeneous tan-pink gelatinous mass. A microscopic examination demonstrated a small number of capillaries and mature fat cells, and differentiating immature lipoblastoma cells were detected in the myxoid stroma. A pathologic finding confirmed the diagnosis of lipoblastoma. The postoperative course was uneventful. The patient underwent follow-up for 1 year after the operation, and there was no evidence of recurrence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The most common presentation of lipoblastoma is a painless, rapidly enlarging neck mass. Published reports showed that most of them occur before the age of 3 years. Complete surgical excision is the treatment of choice. Although lipoblastoma is an extremely rare benign tumor, it should be considered in the diagnosis of neck mass in children younger than 3 years.
authors.forename: Hwan Jun
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Young Man
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ji Hye
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ju Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Min Sung
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Tark
mesh_terms: D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D062689:Lipoblastoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed