Asymptomatic giant gastric lipoma: What to do?

Gastrointestinal (GI) lipomas are benign, usually single, slowly growing tu mors (1, 2). Their occurrence in the GI tract is most common in the colon, but they can be found also in the small bowel and very rarely in the stomac h, where they account for 5% of all GI lipomas (3, 4). Although most gastri c lipomas (GL) are usually detected incidentally (2), they can cause severe symptoms such as obstruction, invagination, and life-threatening hemorrhag es (5, 6). To date, only three cases of GL have been reported in childhood (7). We describe the case of an 11-yr-old girl with asymptomatic giant GL, who has not received any treatment until now. New diagnostic insights, ther apeutic options, and indications for treatment in asymptomatic patients are discussed. (Am J Gastroenterol 1999;94:3634-3637. (C) 1999 by Am. Coll. of Gastroenterology).