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Background: Colonic lipomas are benign and rare lesions of the intestine. Their incidence is less than 1 % in the general population. They are generally located in the submucosa and their distribution tends to favor the right colon. Their symptoms depend upon their size and location.
Case reports: We report six cases of colonic lipoma in conjunction with a review of the literature. Two patients required urgent abdominal exploration and four patients underwent elective surgery with the
diagnosis of colonic tumoral lesion. The reason for urgent exploration was colonic obstruction as
a result of intussusception caused by colonic lipoma. Surgical pathological examination confirmed
lipomas as an underlying cause. All patients tolerated surgery well and postoperative period was
uneventful except mild atelectasis in two patients.
Conclusions: Colonic lipoma although rare, should be considered when evaluating the adult patient with
colonic submucosal tumor or with colonic intussusception. The treatment of the colonic lipoma
is surgical. Endoscopic and laparoscopic resection of the affected colonic segment or the lipoma
is becoming a viable alternative to the conventional open excision.