title: Cervical paravertebral osteolipoma: case report and literature review.
abstract: Lipomas are the most frequent soft tissue tumors. Osteolipomas are a rare variant that can be difficult to diagnose. We report the case of a 66-year-old man consulting with a tumor of 2 years development in the right paravertebral cervical region. Neurologically, the patient had no sign of myelopathy or neurological focality. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a mass with a lipid component and calcifications inside within the right paravertebral musculature with a possible origin in the right C3 posterior root. A computed tomography scan and guided biopsy were performed, revealing hematic material and small bone spicules with no apparent neoplastic element. The tumor was totally removed, including the right C3 posterior branch, and was confirmed to be an osteolipoma on biopsy. The patient remains asymptomatic at 6-month follow-up. The osteolipoma is a benign tumor of soft tissue, characterized by lipoma areas with mature bone tissue differentiation, and even with hematopoietic marrow.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Spine Division, Parc de Salut Mar, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Pau
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guirro
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Spine Division, Parc de Salut Mar, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Guillem
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Saló
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Spine Division, Parc de Salut Mar, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Antoni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Molina
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Spine Division, Parc de Salut Mar, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Andreu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lladó
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Spine Division, Parc de Salut Mar, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Lluís
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Puig-Verdié
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Spine Division, Parc de Salut Mar, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ramírez-Valencia
keywords: Atypical lipoma; Cervical paravertebral; Ossifying lipoma; Soft tissue tumor