Sport-induced lipoma

Abstract

Lipoma is the most common benign soft tissue tumour in human beings. It can be seen in all parts of the body and occupies the subcutaneous compartment predominantly. The pathogenesis of lipoma is still unknown, but trauma is one of the most implicated etiological factors. We report about two athletes with a very quickly grown lipoma on their right scapular area. One was a professional volleyball player and the other one was a table-tennis player. Both patients were right-handed. To our knowledge, there has been no report on sport-induced lipoma in the literature. We speculate that chronically minor traumas especially to the scapular area, in which fat tissue is located between the bone and the firm skin, may trigger the formation and enlargement of lipoma.