The preepiglottic space is located in front of the epiglottis. It is an extremely narrow space surrounded by the hyoid bone, periosteum and ligament. We encountered a rare case of phlegmon of the oral floor that spread posteroinferiorly along the geniohyoid muscle, forming an abscess in the preepiglottic space.
A 51-year-old man presented to our clinic with remarkable swelling and pain in the oral floor and submandibular region. He was admitted, treated by incision to promote pus discharge, and given antibiotics. There after, the main symptoms improved rapidly. However, he complained of swallowing pain and dyspnea. Computed tomography revealed an abscess in the posterior region of the hyoid bone. The region is the preepiglottic space, often invaded by laryngeal cancer. The patient was successfully treated because of an accurate diagnosis, and re-incision was done to promote pus discharge from preepiglottic space. When inflammation spreads into the preepiglottic space, clinical findings are often sparse because this region is surrounded by the hyoid bone. Computed tomographic and laryngeal fiberscopic findings are useful in diagnosis.
