Anybody have partially calcified ligament removed?

I'm still going crazy trying to figure out what is causing all my symptoms. Mainly I have a tightness/foreign body sensation in back right corner of my mouth (where tonsil used to be), and a feeling like I am choking or can't breathe a lot along with ear fullness on the right side that I can "pop" to get rid of. Recently I have also developed a persistent deep cough.

I am taking high dose PPIs to see if that helps anything that might be related to acid but so far that hasn't helped.

I recently went to a new ENT and he was familiar with ES and associated things. He showed me on the CT scan that he doesn't think the styloids are elongated at all, but he does see where the ligament between the styloid and the hyoid bone (I think this is right..) is calcified on both sides, but he showed me how on the right side it is a lot larger calcification (larger white blob on the CT scan). It's basically like you see the end of the styloid, and then nothing where the ligament is, and then within the ligament it turns white again on the scan to show the part that has calcified.

He told me that he's willing to do the surgery to remove it, but that he doesn't know if it will help any of my symptoms or not. He said he'd give it 50/50 of actually helping. He also indicated that this does completely disconnect that ligament but that it should not cause any problems. So my question is, has anybody on here had something similar done? Did it help your issue? Were there any side effects afterwards? I assume that "disconnecting" the ligament also happens if you shorten the styloid, so this results in the same "missing link" as the styloid surgery?

My concern of course is that if I have the surgery it won't fix anything and I'll end up with a new problem from having that ligament disconnected. Just not sure if that could be causing the tightness/foreign body sensation. The doctor said he doesn't think so but where I feel the sensation is pretty much exactly where that ligament is... so not sure.

To reassure you, the ligament plays a minor role in swallowing, & like your appendix, you won't notice when it's gone. I had 1 of 2 elongated styloids shortened & am awaiting my second surgery. My ENT did remove the ligament when he shortened my first styloid & will do so w/ the second one. in addition to my styloids being elongated, I can see on my CT scan that my ligaments are calcified in patches. I have had no adverse symptoms since the right ligament was removed.

Hope this helps you. I'd say go for the surgery if you're comfortable with your doctor. It might make all the difference in the world for you.

:)

That is exactly what i have and the ENT told me exactly what was told to you. I have been on the fence about surgery i have a list of datws to pick from but just like you am scared of getting worse not better.

Mine is getting worse by doing nothing. I’m getting the surgery

Thanks for sharing. Did your surgery help your original issue? Did you have any symptoms similar to mine?

Isaiah 40:31 said:

To reassure you, the ligament plays a minor role in swallowing, & like your appendix, you won't notice when it's gone. I had 1 of 2 elongated styloids shortened & am awaiting my second surgery. My ENT did remove the ligament when he shortened my first styloid & will do so w/ the second one. in addition to my styloids being elongated, I can see on my CT scan that my ligaments are calcified in patches. I have had no adverse symptoms since the right ligament was removed.

Hope this helps you. I'd say go for the surgery if you're comfortable with your doctor. It might make all the difference in the world for you.

:)

Hi Teri, I didn't ask my doctor about what is actually removed. Are you saying they just removed the calcified part and left the non-calcified part of the ligament? I was wondering about this as it seems like once they "disconnect" it it might be better if they remove the whole ligament so it's not just hanging loose in your jaw? That my totally non-medical assumption that if you have a rope and you cut a piece of it out then the other sides are just hanging loose to interfere with other things.

Did you have any similar symptoms to me? It's probably too soon to ask if you've noticed any improvement.

Teri Jackson said:

My ligaments on both sides were completely calcified. I just had my surgery this past Thursday. He removed 20-30 cm on each side. They were touching my voicebox he removed both sides at one time. Also he said they were knotty and the largest he had seen

I am exactly in the same situation. I have my ligament calcified in small segments, and doctors say IS not what they are used to do surgery to, so maybe i Will get better, but very possibly this is not causing all my syntomps. I would be very glad if you could tell me if you finally had the surgery and if It helped.
Best regardsss :heavy_heart_exclamation:

I dont know how much this new ENT knows about ES or the experience he/she has. I would ask how many surgeries this doc has done for Eagles. He say he doesnt “think” the styloid are elongated. What did he measure them at? Exact measurement? Some docs have different measuring criteria ie: what length does he/she think is elongated?

The first doc that measured mine said it was segmented. The ES expert I went to said otherwise (It was continuous) and it was longer than what the (2) radiologist’s measured.

As for tightness. There is alot of inflammation going on in there. My neck was tight as a drum. I had one TMJ doc say that all the muscles in the neck clamping down on the calcifications can cause alot of pain. I think he raises a good point. I had both sides done last year. No new problems from it other than if you have TMJ, it can flair it after surgery.

Personally, I would get a second opinion to confirm what the first one said.

:joy: @ThroatCrazy ~ I just saw this post 6 years after the fact. Yes my surgery helped. It’s been 6.5 years since my first surgery, & I’m nearly pain free. I wonder what you decided to do - surgery or live w/ your symptoms - & how you are doing now?

The doctor showed me my CT SCAN and explained everything, so i could confirm It is calcified in small segments. Also It is not so long. 40 mm in the right one and 35 mm from the skull bone in the left side.

But It is causing syntomps. He said sometimes there are neuropaties which are not caused by eagles. So It is 50/50 because as he showed me a complete calcified ligament in a picture, mine is not so obvious. I am afraid yo take that decisión and worsen the situation.

My doctor explained that MRI’s and CT scans are taken in slices and the software interprets what is in between. This is why sometimes when looking at a scan it can look like it is in segments. The radiologist said it was segmented but the ES surgeon who is experienced in reading these all the time and operating on people took the position it was not segmented. There are various types of scans and also the level of contrast, interval of slices and resolution level that give more information. The higher the resolution and # of slices/interval impacts the detail.

Hey @ThroatCrazy

Did you end up getting a surgery