Eagle syndrome

Eagle syndrome can be frustrating, making talking, eating, and even turning your head painful.

That said, Eagle syndrome is a highly treatable condition for patients who seek treatment.

Surgery to shorten the styloid process is the primary treatment for Eagle syndrome. This procedure can be performed through the mouth or through the neck.

Surgery through the mouth requires removal of the tonsils and makes it harder for the surgeon to reach the styloid process. It also slightly increases the risk of damaging the surrounding blood vessels.

Surgery through the neck provides better access to the styloid process but leaves a scar, and it can also damage the nerves of the face.

Nowadays, in Eagle syndrome, surgery that reaches the styloid process through a much shorter incision using an endoscope fitted with a camera, causing much less tissue damage, is preferred.

In roughly 80 to 95 percent of people who undergo surgery for Eagle syndrome, symptoms improve either completely or partially.