A Rare Case of Eagle Syndrome Associated with Tonsil Hypertrophy: Case Report with Literature Review

Abstract

Eagle’s syndrome, or stylohyoid complex syndrome, is a rare facial pain syndrome characterised by latero-cervical pain radiating to the face, pharyngeal pain increased by swallowing, linked to an abnormal enlargement of the styloid or calcification of the stylo-hyoid ligament. The incidence of the presentation is about 4 to 8 per 10,000 individuals. The establishment of the diagnosis is a challenge in itself as we need to differentiate it from the neuralgias of cranial nerve such as glossopharyngeal neuralgia and superior laryngeal neuralgias. The surgical management of the Eagle syndrome consists in the shortening of the elongated styloid process, with the surgical access by intra oral or cervical. We report a case of a 28-year- old men admitted to our otorhinolaryngology department with sharp neck pain and a sensation of having a foreign body in the throat. Physical examination found bilateral tonsilar hypertrophia, with palpation of a solid immobile structure. CT scan with 3D reconstruction revealed elongated styloid processes with ossification of the left stylo-hyoid ligament. The patient was treated by tonsillectomy with excision of styloid processes by intra oral approach.