Lipoma of the forehead

Background and Objective. Lipomas should be included in the differential di agnosis of tumors located on the forehead. They require a different operati ve plan. Patients/Methods. lipomas of the forehead were extirpated in ten patients. Dermatohistopathologic investigations confirmed the diagnosis lipoma in eac h case and exactly identified the anatomic layers surrounding the tumor. Results. Histologic investigations revealed the localization of the lipoma in the submuscular layer in eight patients and in the subgaleal layer in tw o patients. Conclusions. Lipomas of the forehead should be differentiated into submuscu lar and subgaleal lipomas depending on the exact anatomic localization belo w the frontalis muscle or underneath the galea aponeurotica. This classific ation is simple and aids in operative planning.