Intralabyrinthine Lipoma: Case Report and Comprehensive Literature Review

Objective: To describe a new case of intralabyrinthine lipoma and review all previously published cases in the literature.

Study Design: Retrospective case review, literature review.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Patients: One adult patient (>18 years) with congenital hearing loss; literature review includes pediatric and adult patients with intralabyrinthine lipoma.

Intervention(s): Diagnostic imaging to confirm diagnosis.

Main Outcome Measure(s): Intralabyrinthine lipomas are rare etiologies that can lead to unilateral hearing loss and vestibular symptoms.

Results: 14 total cases of intralabyrinthine lipoma have now been reported in the literature. All cases are associated with ipsilateral hearing loss. Four of the cases (29%) reported congenital hearing loss, 8 (57%) reported acquired hearing loss, and 2 (14%) were unspecified. Three patients (21%) also reported vestibular symptoms. Only one patient underwent surgery due to severe vestibular symptoms. All other patients were followed with serial imaging. None of the cases report growth over time, but follow-up imaging is rarely reported.

Conclusions: Intralabyrinthine lipomas are rare, benign causes for unilateral hearing loss. Although rare, lipomas must be considered on a differential diagnosis as their characteristics and propensity for growth are different than other lesions in the same region such as schwannomas. Surgery should be reserved for only those with debilitating vestibular symptoms given the propensity for lipomas to be intimately adherent to adjacent tissues and high rate of postoperative dysfunction. Cochlear implants with or without lipoma removal could be considered for patients otherwise meeting implant criteria.

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
05. Februar 2024