A 49-year-old man who consumed 60g of alcohol per day for 20 years, presented with a number of painless and soft masses that measured up to 12cm in diameter. The growths first began in the neck and then extended symmetrically to the shoulders, upper back, and chest (fig. 1).
Laboratory analysis showed mild abnormalities in the AST, ALT, and GGT levels. Magnetic resonance imaging identified diffuse fatty deposits in the subcutaneous tissue (fig. 2).
A biopsy was performed that revealed mature unencapsulated adipose tissue (fig. 3).
Madelung's disease was diagnosed.
The largest lesions were surgically resected. There was subsequent growth of the remaining lesions that required 3 more surgeries. The last surgery was performed when the patient was 66 years old.
At the age of 64, the patient stopped consuming alcohol, which resulted in the normalization of his liver profile and the stability of the remaining lipomas.
Ethical disclosuresProtection of human and animal subjectsThe authors declare that no experiments were performed on humans or animals for this study.
Confidentiality of dataThe authors declare that they have followed the protocols of their work center on the publication of patient data.
Right to privacy and informed consentThe authors have obtained the written informed consent of the patients or subjects mentioned in the article. The corresponding author is in possession of this document.
Financial disclosureNo specific grants were received from public sector agencies, the business sector, or non-profit organizations in relation to this study.
Conflict of interestThe authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Please cite this article as: Ríos León R, Crespo Pérez L, García de la Filia Molina I. Enfermedad de Madelung (lipomatosis simétrica múltiple) en un paciente alcohólico. Revista de Gastroenterología. 2018;83:344–345.