Symmetrical benign lipomatosis of the tongue and Launois-Bensaude lipomatosis.

Background. There are many causes of macroglossia, including fatty infiltra tion. Unlike unique or multiple lipomas of the tongue, non-encapsulated adi pocyte masses develop in the tongue in symmetrical benign lipomatosis. Only six cases have been reported in the literature. Case report. A 69-year-old man with a history of chronic alcoholism develop ed a soft tumefied formation on the lateral margins of the tongue. A yellow -colored content was perceived through the thin mucosa. The formation was b ilateral and had developed for more than lo years. The patient also present ed Launois-Bensaude lipomatosis localized on the neck, the nucal region and the shoulders. Discussion. This is, to our knowledge, the first reported case of symmetric al benign lipomatosis associated with Launois-Bensaude lipomatosis. An anal ogy between these two conditions has been suggested, but the six earlier ca ses of lipomatosis of the tongue reported in the literature developed in pa tients without cutaneous lipomatosis.