I had my styloid removed 4 days ago intra-orally at OHSU. My top layer of stitches are already coming out and its bleeding and painful. The doctor on call confirmed via photos that this is ok, so I believe things are good. I’m curious for those who had intra-oral, how long did your stitches last? When they came out, did you have large holes and bleeding? This anxiety is killing me. It’s so awful. I didn’t expect the wound to open so soon. I’ve been avoiding food and drink to stop the bleeding. The bleeding isn’t a lot, so I don’t believe it’s concerning… but the incision is large and I’m scared it’s going to open on day 4. That’s too soon.
@Bvred -
I would recommend getting an emergency appt w/ your surgeon on Mon. to get your incision checked. It shouldn’t be open to the point you have big holes this soon. Sounds like it wasn’t well sutured.
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I don’t feel like it was either, but they don’t offer appointments with the surgeon. They just said to go to an ER if anything bad happens. Which isn’t great. The doctor I spoke to assured me that sutures coming out this early is fine and a little bleeding is also expected. I just haven’t heard anybody else note this. I was curious if others have had the same. It’s a really stressful process. I’m regretting it already.
That sounds grim, there will be layers of stitches in the muscles I would’ve thought, not just one set, but I don’t know for sure…hopefully others who have had intra-oral surgery will reply, we have fewer members going this route of surgery now… @Deb7 is only a couple of days in front of you, maybe you could send a message & ask?
Here’s a link to a discussion by @Kiriez back in September
& one by @michelle with info, but I can’t see any mentions of when the stitches would normally come out I’m afraid…
Again, you could try messaging them? Praying that you get this sorted , that it does heal up quickly, & sending you a hug 
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Thank you! I did reach out to them. Fingers crossed. I’m shocked they just send people home and say “see you in a month”. I feel like there should be a follow up shortly after discharge to check on things.
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Hi @Bvred, I’m sorry to hear your stitches came out!! Ugh, that’s the worst!
Mine came out on day 7 so I was a bit further along. The incision didn’t bleed again, but there was definitely a long “hole” (it looked like a little canyon) and it was red and pissed off and horribly painful. Dr. Schindler had specifically told me that the (top layer) stitches would almost surely come out because they almost always do, and that it would hurt if they did, but that I didn’t need to worry about it. So I just went back to eating liquids only for another week or so, because trying to eat a pork chop is what pulled the stitches in the first place. Gently gargling with some salty water (not too salty) helped with the pain and also cleaned the gash out after “eating” (drinking) any food. Also when I wasn’t eating, drinking water helped the pain.
Was it solid food that did it? Can you stick to lukewarm soups for another week? You’re going to be OK, don’t worry!! 
(P.S. I don’t know how I accidentally deleted the first response, whoops!)
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Thank you for replying! My stitches were HANGING from the very beginning, so it actually popped out while I was sleeping. I think my tongue brushed up against it. I have been eating soft foods only, but my tongue ended up being the traitor here. Lol. The bleeding finally stopped overnight and is no longer actively bleeding. I have low platelets normally, and the Ibuprofen is likely not helping that. They prescribed me the TSX or whatever that’s called but my pharmacy cancelled it because they are not a compounding pharmacy. My husband is going to make the drive to OHSU today to pick it up, but I feel so bad sending him all the way down there for this. Especially if bleeding is normal. I havent been taking the oxy because I have IBS and I’m really scared to throw up in my current state. So pain management has been tricky. I’m more worried about the bleeding since that seems scarier to me. I added a photo of the new blood clot, sorry for anybody who didn’t want to see that. 
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Heyyy, that actually looks pretty OK to me! It looks exactly like mine did except I didn’t get a blood clot where my stitches fell out. Ouch, though… it looks painful.
TXA for bleeding should be available from a regular pharmacy like Walgreens, or OHSU will have it if your husband is going over there. Relatedly, have you told the medical team that you’re not able to take opiates due to nausea? There are several medications they can give you to make sure you avoid nausea or vomiting so you can take your pain meds! I needed the strong meds for another 5 days after the stitches fell out…
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They are prescribing it as a special compound. I called Walgreens and they said if it’s tablets you crush, they can do that. But apparently the doctor called in some special liquid version that even OHSU said they cannot make. I don’t think this is going to happen for me unfortunately. Lol. Sounds about right with this entire ordeal. Did you get tablets or liquid?
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Oh, right! Sorry, yes, the ones I use are tablets!
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You incision & the blood clot actually look pretty ok to me, as well. Your healing is beginning!! Just keep rinsing your incision after you eat/drink & it should heal nicely, @Bvred!
You have a wonderful husband to “go the extra mile” for you so you can recover more comfortably!! 
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It took ALL DAY but I finally got the tablets prescribed at my pharmacy. Luckily I feel pretty good today, so I could make phone calls all day long. Lol. Now I can feel safe taking Ibuprofen again. Which was REALLY helping before. The doctor said it would be fine either way, but since the bleeding happened for 4 hours yesterday and I naturally have low platelets anyway, I just feel better having it on hand.
Thank you ALL so much. The on call doctor has been rough today so having a supportive group to help along the way has been so amazing.
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I figured I’d add my styloid photo for fun. No bleeding today and honestly now that the hole is starting to heal over, it feels better than the annoying stitch that was there. I’m feeling much better. I’ll take it, one day at a time.
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Not sure why, but tonight I woke up with terrible diarrhea. I’ve been eating very little, soft, simple foods. I haven’t taken opioid pain meds, just Tylenol and Ibuprofen (Ibuprofen has always been fine for me in the past). I absolutely hate this. My heart rate has also been super high since surgery. My Fitbit thinks I’m exercising when I’m doing nothing. I am so scared that by having this surgery I’ve made my life so much worse 
I’m a mess.
Good that the hole is closing, it certainly looked clean from the pic so not infected…but sorry that you’re feeling rougher today… I would guess that the high heart rate is possibly from the vagus nerve being irritated during surgery, which can happen, and hopefully will settle soon. @Isaiah_40_31 has mentioned before that there are exercises on YouTube to calm an overactive vagus nerve, but as humming is one of them it might be best to wait a little while before you try that! The vagus nerve does have a role in digestion too, so it could be that, or possibly just the change in diet coupled with the meds & stress. Sending you a hug & prayers for healing
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@Bvred - Since you’ve already had a day that was better (prior to last night’s gastrointestinal trauma), that’s a great sign of better days to come. The first week or two after surgery are the absolute worst & generally aren’t predictors of the overall outcome. Intraoral surgery is also more difficult to recover from initially so there is also that to consider.
I expect you’ll be singing a different tune in a couple of weeks & will be very happy you chose to have the surgery. Your styloid is long & pretty thick so having it removed will definitely help make your nerves happier! Recovery requires patience & a positive mindset will help even more. Trust your body to do what it’s good at - healing so you can thrive.
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That’s a good reminder. My body has been a traitor to me for 20 years, so I have a pretty strong distrust in it. Lol. Alongside POTS, IBS and other Autonomic issues I was hoping the styloid removal would help. I just worry that I’ve angered the beast. Hopefully it’s just temporary. I do need to focus my energy on being positive. That’s just hard to do with very little food, sleep and being up all night. I’ve lost 10 lbs this week and I was only 150 to begin with. Fingers crossed that I’m turning a corner here soon.
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@Bvred - Add some fat in the form of olive or avocado oil to your smoothies, soups, etc. Fat will help you feel more full & satisfied for longer after you “eat”. Make sure you have protein in whatever you’re eating too. That can be in the form of protein powder or vegetable/animal protein. I ran all my meals through the blender before consuming them (i.e. meat, veggies, etc. w/ a bit of almond milk or broth) because I couldn’t chew for a couple of weeks after my surgery. I have a 16 oz. “green smoothie” for breakfast most mornings & add protein powder, chia, ground flax seed, & hemp seeds to it for my fat sources. When I was long distance running/hiking, I would also add MCT oil or a small avocado. Having that little bit of extra fat makes a big difference in how long the smoothie holds me & how satisfying it is.
I hope you can start getting some sleep, too, as that will help you a lot. I recall sleeping was pretty difficult for several weeks post op for me as well.
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Dear Bvred, So sorry you are having these issues. I understand exactly what you are going through. I had my left sided styloidectomy on August 11th, 9 days ago. I had/have the exact concerns you are having. I had some bleeding day two and all night I debated should I go to ER? It was a terrible night between that and the pain. I was given Celebrex 12 hour extended release twice a day. (Pain and anti-inflammatory) It made me so nauseous and I almost threw up several times. I stopped taking it. Also I was given hydrocodone with Tylenol as needed. I could only take it now and then because nauseous again. Then given anti-anxiety drug that did the same thing. So in the beginning my pain was not under control. That did not help me. And the pain was horrendous. I also have TMJ and Menieres so that added extra pain. So I ended going to 2/500 Tylenol, up to 3000 in a 24 hour period. Last night I was in so much pain from the trauma on my neck from the intubation I took 2/200 Advil to help the inflammation. I did not get sick but will not overdo the Advil. I too have everything very blended up. I do what @Isaiah_40_31 said and add good fats to the smoothies. The best tasting so far was the chicken breast whizzed up with sweet potato. Protein so important to help heal your body. I drink lots of water.
I think my left ear hurts the most and of course my jaw and neck on that side. By night my jaw is so stiff and hard to open up so I try to do gentle open and close. I talked to a nurse yesterday on the surgery team. He gave me great advice by saying, “ that’s why we continue not to be overly concerned right now. He said your body needs to heal so just let your body do what it does. It’s allowed to heal and you just go with it and be patient. He said he knows that the feeling of being poked all the time in the back of the throat does not feel good at all, but he said where they put the stitches is a high entrance area of your throat. We had to put really strong stitches in. We see you in 10 days and then we can look at the area and see if there’s any longer ends poking out we can cut them back and make it a little more comfortable. He also says your body is on high alert right now after everything that it went through trying to figure out what happened and to heal, so just don’t overly stress over every little thing and try to relax and go with the healing. But he said if something doesn’t feel right, or it is a big concern to you and you call us back so we can address it.” I realize how it can all feel like gloom and doom but we can do this even as hard as it may be. Prayers have been helping me so much. I appreciate everyone who has prayed for my recovery. I will pray for your’s. BTW, I was amazed that you were able to take that photo of the inside of your mouth. I cannot open mine wide enough to see anything inside. I looked at your’s and said “Wow, that is how it looks…no wonder I am feeling like I do.” Funny, all my family says you doing the second one? I think to myself, I need to get over this one, a second one is not even on my radar. Lol! I will be thinking of you and wish you better days ahead. I am day 9 and do not feel like I have turned the corner yet. Better days ahead. 
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