Lipoma of the transverse colon with intussusception: A case report.

Colonic lipomas represent the most frequent mesenchymal benign tumors of the large intestine after hyperplastic polyps and adenomatous polyps, but the pathogenesis is unclear. These tumors are composed of mature fatty tissue and usually arise in the submucosa. They are usually solitary and small, and may be sessile or pedunculated. Most patients are asymptomatic and their tumors are often detected incidentally, but tumors larger than 2 cm tend to produce change in bowel habit, abdominal pain, rectorrhagia and complications such a luminal obstruction or intestinal intussusception. Diagnosis may be aided by colonoscopy with biopsy, barium enema and computed tomography. Colonic lipomas occur most often in the right colon, particularly in the ileocecal valve. Some cases of such lipoma of transverse colon have been reported in Europe and the United States, but rare in Korea. We report a case of lipoma of the transverse colon that was originated in subserosa and presented as a intussusception in a 63-year-old woman with brief review of literatures. (Korean J Med 61:41-45, 2001)