Abstract

Background: Benign tumors of the esophagus are very rare, constituting only 0.5% to 0.8% of all esophageal neoplasms. Approximately 60% of benign esophageal neoplasms are leiomyomas, 20% are cysts, 5% are polyps, and less than 1% are lipomas.
Case Report: A 40-year-old woman was referred to our department with dysphagia that had progressively wors­ened during the previous 2 years. Physical examination on admission produced normal findings. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed a submucosal space-occupying mass in the posterior wall of the lower esophagus, with normal mucosa. The mass was yellowish and soft. A computed tomography (CT) of the chest revealed a submucosal esophageal lesion in the posterior wall, with luminal narrowing of the distal esophagus. Thus, a submucosal tumor was identified in this region and esophageal submucosal lipoma was considered the most likely diagnosis. A laparoscopic oper­ation was performed. The tumor was completely enucleated, and measured 10×7×2.5 cm. The pathology showed lipoma. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient was discharged 4 days after the operation.
Conclusions: Benign tumors of the esophagus are very rare. Laparoscopic transhiatal enucleation of lower esophageal lipomas and other benign tumors is a safe and effective operation.

Keywords: Laparoscopy, Enucleation, Lipoma