Eagle syndrome: case report

Eagle syndrome includes a variety of clinical presentations that often delay its diagnosis. It is characterized by symptomatic elongation of the styloid process or calcification of the styloid ligament, causing symptoms of neural or vascular compression. The syndrome is uncommon and mainly affects women between thirty and fifty years old. The diagnosis is ideally done with 3D computed tomography and definite treatment is surgical resection of the styloid process.

This case reports a 42-year-old woman with a six-year history of left cervical pain and dysphagia with computed tomographic findings showing bilateral elongation of the styloid process consistent with the syndrome. 

Although rare, this syndrome must be considered in patients with chronic cervical pain and dysphagia, since its surgical management and imaging diagnosis offer favorable results.