Eagle′s Syndrome: Our experiences in a tertiary care teaching hospital of Eastern India

Abstract

Introduction: Eagle's syndrome (ES) is defined as the elongation of styloid process or the calcification of the stylohyoid ligament causing clinical manifestations such as throat pain, odynophagia, dysphagia, headache, and irradiation of pain into the ear and neck pain. The clinician misses the diagnosis due to nonspecific clinical presentations. Objective: To study detail clinical profile and management of the patients with ES in a tertiary care teaching hospital of eastern India. Materials and Methods: Twenty-one patients with ES were included in our study. Diagnosis of the ES was based on clinical presentations and three-dimensional computed tomography (3D CT scan). All were treated through transoral approach under general anesthesia. Results: 3D CT is very useful for preoperative estimation of the styloid process length. There were no postoperative complications encountered. Chief symptoms of the patients were regressed after surgery. Conclusion: Clinical presentations and three dimensional CT are important for exact diagnosis of ES. The transoral approach is a safe and definitive treatment of ES.

Keywords

• Eagle′s syndrome
• elongated styloid process
• throat pain