title: Syndromic lipomatosis of the head and neck: a review of the literature.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patients with syndromic causes of lipomatosis of the head and neck, although rare, often present late in the course of the disease in a myriad of ways, including concomitant airway obstruction, severe functional limitations, and/or significant cosmetic defects. The goal of this report was to review the literature and present a concise overview of the major syndromes causing lipomatosis of the head and neck.
  
  
  METHODS
  A literature search was performed to gather information on syndromic lipomatosis of the head and neck region. PubMed was searched for the following conditions: Familial multiple lipomatosis (FML), multiple symmetrical lipomatosis (MSL), congenital infiltrating lipomatosis of the face (CIL-F), and Nasopalpebral lipoma-coloboma syndrome (NLCS). Data gathered included results of surgical cases of the head and neck region.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 48 reports comprising 172 cases of syndromic lipomatosis of the head and neck region were deemed eligible for review. Eighty-five percent of patients were male with an average age of 35 years. Seventy-four percent of cases appeared in the neck region, whereas 23 % presented in the face and scalp. 89 % of cases were treated with surgical excision, with 11 % of cases treated with liposuction. The most common complications were hematoma and seroma in MSL, recurrence in FML, neuropraxia in CIL-F, and mild telecanthus in NLCS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Syndromic causes of lipomatosis are generally benign in nature but difficult to control long term. Because these conditions include frequent recurrence and subsequent difficulty in clearing the disease, the authors advocate early and aggressive surgical excision of syndromic lipomatosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each submission to which Evidence-Based Medicine rankings are applicable. This excludes Review Articles, Book Reviews, and manuscripts that concern Basic Science, Animal Studies, Cadaver Studies, and Experimental Studies. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .
authors: Department of Plastic Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, 9500 Euclid Ave, Suite A60, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA.
authors: Kashyap Komarraju
authors: KK
authors: Tadisina
authors: Karolina S
authors: KS
authors: Mlynek
authors: Lyahn K
authors: LK
authors: Hwang
authors: Hooman
authors: H
authors: Riazi
authors: Francis A
authors: FA
authors: Papay
authors: James E
authors: JE
authors: Zins
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006257:Head; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D015187:Lipectomy / Q000379:methods*; D008069:Lipomatosis, Multiple Symmetrical / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009333:Neck; D012008:Recurrence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution