A rare case of laryngeal spindle cell lipoma

Abstract

We report a rare case of an intrinsic spindle cell laryngeal lipoma in a young immunocompromised adult causing acute upper airway obstruction. We discuss the management objectives and key points relating to the case. There are only 165 reported cases of laryngeal lipomatous lesions in the literature, with 30 being intrinsic lipomas and 50 being liposarcomas. It is challenging to differentiate between lipomas and liposarcomas of the larynx clinically and even histopathologically. Long-term follow-up is therefore recommended, and there should be a high level of clinical suspicion for liposarcoma in recurrences of surgically excised laryngeal lipomas.