Eagle's syndrome: a novel surgical approach to the styloid process using a preauricular incision.

Structural anomalies of the styloid chain were described more than 300 years ago by anatomists. In 1937, the American otolaryngologist Watt W. Eagle wrote a series of reports on this subject and its clinical significance. Because of his interest, the symptoms related to the anomalies of the stylohyoid chain became known as Eagle’s syndrome. Eagle himself acknowledged 3 other surgeons who identified these anomalies and treated them surgically to alleviate the symptoms. The first of these predated Eagle by 65 years. The present report refers to the anomalies of the stylohyoid chain as Eagle’s syndrome.