Sonographic appearances of superficial soft tissue lipomas

High‐resolution real‐time sonography was used to evaluate 35 superficial soft tissue lipomas. Thirty were located in subcutaneous tissues and 5 in superficial muscles. The lipomas were assessed for location, shape and size, boundaries, echotexture, homogeneity, and sound through transmission. All were elongated, with their greatest diameter parallel to the skin. Twenty‐three lipomas (66%) showed a homogenous echotexture. Twenty‐one (60%) were well defined, and the remainder showed ill‐defined margins blending into the surrounding tissues. Twenty‐nine percent of the lipomas were hypoechoic, 22% were isoechoic, 29% were hyperechoic, and 20% showed a mixed pattern. An elongated isoechoic or echogenic mass in the subcutaneous tissues should suggest the diagnosis of lipoma.