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Breast lipoma

Dr Yuranga Weerakkody and Radswiki et al.

A breast lipoma is a benign breast lesion and is classified as a BIRADS II lesion.

Clinical presentation

Lipomas are mostly asymptomatic and coincidentally discovered on routine mammography. Patients may present with a painless palable breast lump which is soft and mobile. In these cases the diagnosis is clinically obvious.

Skin tethering or fixation are not features of lipomas.

Radiographic features

Mammography

Typically seen as a radiolucent mass with no calcification (in rare situation there may be areas of fat necrosis presenting as calcification). Mammographic detection may be easier in a dense breast. In the vast majority of cases the lipoma is incidentally seen on routine screening.,

Ultrasound

May be seen as a rounded lesion that is iso-echoic or at times slightly hyperechoic to surrounding fat. Occasionally a lipoma can also be hypoechoic 4. The lipoma can be readily distinguished from a hamartoma by the ultrasound and mammogram appearances.

These lesions are also found in males.

In practice

These lesions are rarely a diagnostic or imaging dilemma. Enlargement of a lipoma is an indication for biopsy.

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