[A case of postmenopausal hyperandrogenism caused by a lipid cell tumor].

Steroid-secreting neoplasms of the ovary and adrenal gland comprise a small group of tumors. A 76-year-old woman presented hair loss, facial hirsutism associated with increased serum total testosterone level. The adrenal glands and the ovaries were normal on radiological and ultrasonographic investigation. The patient was submitted to a pelvic exploratory laparotomy. Hysterectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy were performed. A solid and circumscribed ovarian tumor of 2 cm in diameter was found. The pathological diagnosis was lipid cell tumor with stromal hyperplasia. The purpose of this report is to relate how difficult is to establish the diagnosis and the origin of the hyperandrogenism in a patient with normal image studies.