Nevus lipomatosus superficialis unseen or unrecognized: a report of eight cases.

BACKGROUND

Nevus lipomatosus superficialis (NLS) is a unique developmental anomaly or nevoid form of lipoma characterized by the ectopic presence of mature adipocytes in reticular dermis. The condition is rare; apart frrom isolated case reports, there are no large case series dealing with the clinicoepidemiologic characteristics and posttreatment long-term follow-up in patients with NLS and little published information on treatment outcome.

OBJECTIVE

To study the clinicoepidemiologic characteristics and long-term posttreatment follow-up in patients with NLS.

METHODS

This was an 11-year retrospective study analyzing disease characteristics and treatment outcome in eight patients with NLS.

RESULTS

There were eight (six males, two females) patients with NLS, of whom three were children. The classic variant of NLS was the predominant presentation. One patient demonstrated a combination of both classic and solitary variants. Most patients, especially those with solitary variants, were commonly misdiagnosed before presenting to us. Four patients, including two with the solitary variant, one each with the classic and the combined type, underwent surgical resection without any recurrence over 8 years of follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

The rare nature of the disorder, which is commonly misdiagnosed, and the absence of long-term follow-up data prompted us to share our experience about NLS to increase its awareness among health care providers.