Congenital bone anomalies associated with lipomas

Congenital bone anomalies are occasionally located adjacent to deep lipomas. These bone dysplasias may take the form of localized overgrowth or osseous malformation. Two patients wiht iliac anomalies and spinal dysraphism and one with a hypertrophied rib and vertebra associated with lipomas are described. As both the lipomas and osseous anomalies tend to lie in the same sensory nerve distribution, there may be a common embryonic neural dysfunction affecting formation and subsequent growth of these structures. (orig.)