Hello all! I had surgery on my left side back in 2019. For the past 3 months or so I have been experiencing issues sleeping due to neck pain, constant headaches, fullness in throat etc. I am afraid that my right side is starting to cause issues since nothing I do alleviates any of the symptoms. Both side of my ES were completely calcified all the way to the hyoid bone. My surgeon was hoping that by relieving some of the stress of the left side, that the right wouldn’t cause an issues. I didn’t think of this as the cause until now due to my symptoms on the left side were mainly felt deep inside my ear and the right side is so different. Is there anyone that had to have a 2nd surgery years after the first?
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@Abby4Paige - What we think happens with bilateral ES is that when one styloid is removed, & the other left behind, an imbalance occurs in the neck & especially in a case like yours where the styloids are so long. Though we do have a few members who were diagnosed w/ bilateral ES & were asymptomatic after one styloidectomy, the majority have had to have the second styloid resected eventually. Off the top of my head, I don’t recall anyone going as long as you have w/ a second very long styloid, but that just goes to show that your body did an excellent job of compensating once your first styloid was removed.
Do you know if the doctor who did your first one is still doing styloidectomies? If so, it seems he did a very good job & would be a good person to have take care of your remaining one.
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Thank you! Yes, Dr. Frank Ondrey at the University of Minnesota. I am just waiting for my GP referral so they can get me in to see him. Thankful he is still in practice!
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The symptoms can vary between sides, as the length/ thickness/ angle can often be different and so the nerves affected can be different too.
I hope that Dr Ondrey will help you!
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He is still on our Doctors List so I’m glad to know he’s still in practice & helped you so much the first time you had ES surgery, @Abby4Paige.
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