Lipoma Arborescens : Clinical Features
Comments:
Clinical Features: Lipoma arborescens is seen in adults (peak incidence between 3rd and 5th decades) and affects males slightly more commonly than females. It is usually located in the suprapatellar pouch of the knee joint. Infrequently, it involves shoulder, hip, wrist, elbow or ankle joints. Unilateral knee involvement is typical, but some cases may be bilateral or even affect multiple joints. The patients present with slowly progressive swelling of knee joint, anterior knee pain, intermittent joint effusions, loss of range of motion and locking of the joint. The symptoms are cyclic with periodic excerbations caused by the trapping of lipomatous fronds within the joint space. The image shows swelling around knee joint due to lipoma arborescens in a 46 y/o HIV+ male. Image source: Ramachandra Kamath K et al. Lipoma arborescens of the knee: A case report. Journal of Orthopaedic Reports, Volume 2, Issue 3, Sept. 2023, 100163; used under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.