Eagle's Syndrome Associated With Lingual Nerve Paresthesia: A Case Report

Eagle's syndrome is characterized by a variety of symptoms, including throat pain, sensation of a foreign body in the pharynx, dysphagia, referred otalgia, and neck and throat pain exacerbated by head rotation. Any styloid process longer than 25 mm should be considered elongated and will usually be responsible for Eagle's syndrome. Surgical resection of the elongated styloid is a routine treatment and can be accomplished using a transoral or an extraoral approach. We report a patient with a rare giant styloid process that was approximately 81.7 mm. He complained of a rare symptom: hemitongue paresthesia. After removal of the elongated styloid process using the extraoral approach, his symptoms, including the hemitongue paresthesia, were alleviated. We concluded that if the styloid process displays medium to severe elongation, the extraoral approach will be appropriate. (C) 2014 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons