Oropharyngeal styloids: An unusual presentation

Abstract

The close proximity of the styloid process to many of the vital neurovascular structures in the neck makes it clinically significant. The styloid process is said to be elongated if it is longer than 3.0 cm in length. Anatomical variations are very common and clinical symptoms arising from such variations have to be recognized. Elongated styloid processes may cause chronic throat pain along with foreign body sensation, dysphagia, vague facial pain, and otalgia. Surgical excision of an elongated styloid is considered as a satisfactory treatment for such cases. Here, we present a unique case of bilaterally elongated styloids that could be visualized just by depressing the tongue, when they appeared like the tusks of an elephant in the oropharyngeal region.