title: Lipomas of the internal auditory canal and cerebellopontine angle.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Lipomas of the internal auditory canal (IAC) and cerebellopontine angle (CPA) are exceedingly rare lesions. The purpose of this report was to describe our experience with lipomas of the IAC and CPA and perform a review of the literature.
  
  
  METHODS
  We report 8 cases of lipomas involving the IAC and/or the CPA that were managed at Gruppo Otologico between April 1987 and October 2012.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four cases of entirely intracanalicular lipomas were radiologically misinterpreted as vestibular schwannomas and underwent tumor removal by a translabyrinthine approach. Two of these patients experienced postoperative facial nerve palsy. Lipomas were suspected in 4 patients on the basis of imaging findings and were managed conservatively. Of these 4 cases, 3 did not show any growth after an average period of 28 months, and 1 case demonstrated tumor growth on follow-up imaging.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Neuroimaging represents an extremely important tool for this diagnosis. Attempts to achieve complete resection may result in severe neurologic sequelae, especially in large lesions. Observation with repeated imaging in order to detect growth of the lesion is usually recommended. Debulking of the tumor, mainly aimed at brain stem and cranial nerve decompression, should be considered in cases of disabling and uncontrolled neurologic symptoms and signs.
authors.affiliation: Head and Neck Department (Bacciu, Pasanisi), University Hospital of Parma, Parma.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bacciu
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Di Lella
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ventura
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pasanisi
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanna
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002528:Cerebellar Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D002530:Cerebellopontine Angle / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004428:Ear Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D007758:Ear, Inner / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D005158:Facial Paralysis / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008067:Lipoma / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D013506:Otologic Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: cerebellopontine angle; internal auditory canal; lipoma