Soft tissue tumors in infants and children often cause considerable co
ncern to the surgeon and pathologist, especially when a rare tumor, su
ch as lipoblastoma, is in question. Frozen section may not yield a def
initive diagnosis, and the histologic picture could be deceptive, temp
ting one to make a false diagnosis of malignancy. Except for a single
case report, no detailed cytologic study of this rare benign neoplasm
appears to have been reported previously. The varied cytologic finding
s, as observed on imprint smears of a tumor removed from a 12-month-ol
d boy, are presented. The differential diagnosis of childhood myxoid n
eoplasms is discussed briefly.