Sternohyoid muscle syndrome

Abstract

Objectives: Patients presenting with neck mass are challenging for many otolaryngologists. If a mass on the lower lateral neck exists with swallowing and disappears after swallowing, it has been diagnosed as an omohyoid syndrome in most literature. The mechanism of sternohyoid syndrome has not been proven or investigated before. We investigated sternohyoid syndrome, commonly misdiagnosed as an omohyoid syndrome.

Methods and patients: Two patients were investigated. Outpatient photography, computed tomography and operating findings were reviewed. We found that the sternohyoid muscle was inserted at an abnormal site, the midportion of the clavicle. There was no abnormality of other muscles. We also reviewed all literature that previously diagnosed this condition as an omohyoid syndrome.

Results: There was no literature about sternohyoid syndrome. We found that the abnormal muscle is a sternohyoid muscle and not omohyoid muscle. The color of the left sternohyoid muscle was dark red, and the fascia covering the muscle was denuded. The muscle had lost elasticity and moved abnormally.

Conclusion: Our patients did not have omohyoid syndrome. The symptoms of omohyoid syndrome are the same as sternohyoid syndrome but the problematic muscle is different. This is the first known report diagnosing sternohyoid syndrome, and should be a consideration in the diagnosis of a lateral neck mass.