Fragments of lipoma ascending to the brain.

A 37-year-old woman underwent microsurgical resection of a "lipodermoid" tumor of the conus medullaris. Preoperative evaluation demonstrated an incidental finding of multiple small hypodense lesions in the cerebral ventricles and basal cisterns on cranial computed tomography. It is hypothesized that these lesions represent rostral subarachnoid embolization of flecks of fat from the conus lesion. Evidence supporting this hypothesis is presented.