Intraoral and extraoral approach for surgical treatment of Eagle's syndrome: a retrospective study
Abstract Background We evaluated the clinical characteristics and postoperative efficacy of 94 patients with Eagle’s syndrome based on their clinical symptoms, imageological examination, and physical examination. Through the multi center clinical study of Tongji Medical College and Dalian Medical University, we found some characteristics of Eagle’s syndrome in operation and imaging. Methods In total, 94 patients with Eagle’s syndrome (treated from January 2010 to January 2019) were retrospectively enrolled. The postoperative curative effect was analysed by three surgical methods: styloid process resection through the external cervical approach, tonsillectomy + styloidectomy, and preservation of the tonsil for styloidectomy. Results The average length of the styloid process was 33 mm (range, 25–61 mm). The patients were followed up for 3–36 months (average, 15 months). Of the 94 patients, 20 underwent styloid process resection through the external cervical approach, 45 underwent tonsillectomy and styloidectomy, and 29 underwent styloidectomy with preservation of the tonsil. The treatment cured 45 (48%) cases, was effective in 31 (33%), and ineffective in 18 (19%). The SPSS 19.0 software was used to conduct a rank sum test, and there was no significant difference between the three types of operations (H = 0.521, P = 0.771). Conclusions Operation is an effective method for treating Eagle’s syndrome. There were no significant differences between the effects of the intraoral and external cervical approaches. Imaging examination—especially CT scanning and 3D reconstruction of the styloid process—is very helpful for diagnosis, but not an absolute criterion for the selection of surgery protocol.