Lipomeningioma: case report and review of the literature

Abstract

We present a case of histologically confirmed lipomeningioma, the first to our knowledge reported in Australia. A 61-year-old man presented with seizures and confusion, and was found to have a non-enhancing left extra axial temporo-parietal lesion on CT and MRI scan. On MRI, the mass lesion showed hyper-intensity on the T1 weighted images, hypo-intensity on fat suppressed T2 weighted images and no enhancement with intravenous gadolinium, indicating a mass consisting predominately of fatty tissue. A subsequent CT also showed the mass lesion to be hypodense with Hounsfield units indicating fatty tissue. A durally based tumour with high fat content macroscopically was excised at craniotomy under ultrasound guidance. Post-operative recovery was uneventful. Histology demonstrated a meningioma with high lipid content in the form of mature adipocytes and without atypical features. While not exceedingly rare, fewer than 30 cases of lipomeningioma, lipomatous meningioma, or lipidised meningioma have been reported in the world literature.