A case of a lipoma developed at the site of insulin injection = A case of a lipoma developed at the site of insulin injection

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

A 68-year-old Korean female with type 2 diabetes presented with an 8 year history of an abdominal mass. The mass was soft and movable, with no symptoms like pain or itching sense. She told that the mass had been developed after insulin injection at the injection site. A biopsy specimen was taken from the mass and its histopathologic finding shows a deposition of numerous hypertrophic mature adipocytes. The patient was so diagnosed with a lipoma derived from repeated subcutaneous injection of insulin at the site. The incidence of diabetes mellitus is rising and becoming a larger healthcare burden these days. Modern therapy of diabetes recommends greater and earlier use of insulins to achieve a better control of blood glucoses. So, many diabetic patients nowadays often injects a various kind of insulin derivatives subcutaneously by themselves at home. And abdominal area is one of the most common injection sites. Lipoma or lipohypertrophy arising at the insulin injection site is known to be one of the most common skin complications of insulin therapy. A lipogenic effect of an insulin can cause hypertrophy and aberrant deposition of adipocytes. Low body mass index, younger age, injection site(abdomen) and, especially, missing rotation of injection site were known risk factors for insulin-induced lipohypertrophy.