Abstract
A 77-year-old woman visited our hospital with lower abdominal pain . Barium enema study showed a smooth, spheroid and small-fingerhead sized polypoid shadow in the sigmoid colon (Figure 1). Colonoscopy revealed a smooth, soft and yellowish polypoid lesion about 10cm from anal ring (Figure 2). Biopsy specimens showed normal colonic mucosa, and the diagnostic impression on this tumor was most likely a submucosal one. As the tumor was pedunculated and readily snared, endoscopical polypectomy was performed. The removed tumor measuring 1.3×0.8×0.7cm had a smooth, soft and elastic consistency. The pathological diagnosis was a submucosal lipoma of the sigmoid colon (Figure 3, 4). Lipoma of the large intestine has been considered a relatively rare entity in Japan, but as such reports have recently increased, we could collect 77 cases throughout Japan. Nineteen cases were observed endoscopically (Table 2) and endoscopical polypectomy was performed in 6 cases (Table 3). If a lesion is pedunculated and snaring is feasible, the endoscopic removal may be very useful for the diagnosis and treatment of lipoma.