title: [A rare cause of oral pain: The pterygoid hamulus syndrome].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pterygoid hamulus syndrome (PHS) is a rare cause of orofacial and oropharyngeal pain. PHS can be associated with a hamulus hypertrophy or with a bursitis of the palatosalpingeus but it has not always an anatomic cause.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 36-year-old woman was seen for a constant posterior palatal pain spreading towards oropharynx, increasing during swallowing and lasting for more than 6 months. Physical examination showed an erythema of the soft palate, medially to the hamulus. Hamulus palpation was painful and revealed hamulus hypertrophia on both sides. A bilateral PHS was evocated.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This observation is typical of a PHS. We propose a review of the literature of this little-known syndrome. Treatment is initially conservative (corticosteroids) but surgery can be proposed in case of morphological anomalies of the hamulus.
authors.affiliation: Service de chirurgie maxillofaciale et stomatologie, hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, AP-HP, 75013 Paris, France; Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie Paris 06, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bandini
authors.affiliation: Service de stomatologie et chirurgie maxillofaciale, université de Nantes, CHU de Nantes, 44000 Nantes, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Corre
authors.affiliation: Polyclinique de l'Atlantique, 44000 Nantes, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Huet
authors.affiliation: Service de chirurgie maxillofaciale et stomatologie, hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, AP-HP, 75013 Paris, France; Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie Paris 06, 75005 Paris, France. Electronic address: roman.khonsari@aphp.fr.
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Khonsari
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002062:Bursitis / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008336:Mandibular Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D009960:Oropharynx / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D010160:Palate, Soft / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D011859:Radiography; D013100:Sphenoid Bone / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D013577:Syndrome
keywords: Douleur orofaciale; Hamulus ptérygoïdien; Orofacial pain; Pterygoid hamulus; Soft palate; Voile du palais