There is pain on the palate. Do I have Eagle syndrome?

Question

Hello doctor,

I have changes and pain on the palate, obsessive jaw and tongue movements (I have a feeling something is wrong with my palate and feel the need to lick it with the tip of my tongue constantly), constant feeling of something leaking on the back of my throat and below my tongue and neck pain. I have been diagnosed so far with nasal septum deviation and tonsils to be removed. The CT scan shows my head before surgery. After the surgery, all symptoms still occur.

Do I have Eagle's syndrome? If so, is it just calcified or is it elongated?
Do I have incisive canal cyst or fistula?
Is there any sign of possible CSF leakage?
Any other findings (except for the obvious deviated nasal septum)?

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

You might be aware that Eagle syndrome is a condition where there is an elongation of the styloid process or calcification of the stylohyoid ligament. This causes pressure on the cranial nerves and results in pain related to the nerve compression. We usually measure a styloid process and if it is longer than 3 cm in length then there is a possibility of Eagle syndrome.

Your images (attachment removed to protect patient identity) show the possibility of Eagle syndrome in the axial images and your symptoms can be from nerve compression. It is difficult to accurately measure the length of the styloid process and to see the calcified stylohyoid ligament since the coronal plane images are not available. There is a cystic lesion in the hard palate and this can suggest a nasopalatine and incisive canal cyst. CSF leakage cannot be told on plane CT images. If needed then contrast study is done and looked for leakage. There is deviation of the nasal septum.

For more information consult a radiologist online.