Eagle's syndrome treated with transoral robotic surgery spproach: a single centre experience and literature review

Eagle syndrome (ES) gained recognition through the work of American otorhinolaryngologist Watt Weems Eagle in 1937. It is characterised by the symptomatic elongation of the styloid process and the calcification of the stylohyoid ligament. In anatomical studies on cadavers by an Italian surgeon from the 1600s named De Marchetti, a professor of anatomy at the Faculty of Medicine in Padua, there is evidence of the intuition that the styloid process has a growth trend throughout life, although he did not hypothesise a connection between this finding and symptoms, which was done in a very explanatory and intuitive way by Watt Weems Eagle. The styloid process, extending from the temporal bone, projects anteriorly and inferiorly into the parapharyngeal space and lies close to the latero-cervical compartments, including the internal carotid artery, internal jugular vein, glossopharyngeal, vagus, accessory, and hypoglossal nerves. The stylopharyngeus, styloglossus, and stylohyoid muscles, primarily involved during swallowing and chewing, are closely associated with the process.