Thank you. Unfortunately, in all the ES surgeries I read about, the surgeons cut the calcifications from the styloid process (to the skull base), even by cutting by the ear like Hackman. They never cut the calcifications of the stylo hyoid ligaments on the hyoid bone, and don’t even touch the hyoid bone in ES surgery. Correct me if I’m wrong but I never saw that! So I don’t know what to do about these pieces of calcifications on the lesser horns of the hyoid bone.
For the elongated greater horns, I think it is what is called Hyoid Bone syndrome ?
I’m so depressed about all of this. It’s been a challenge to find an ES surgeon, I had to go to another country. I guess I should do the same for this hyoid bone as no one know this in my country, but I don’t know if I will look for another surgery, as I don’t even know if this hyoid bone is the actual root of my pain. I guess I will wait again 3 months as the benefits of ES surgeries can be well evaluated on the 6 months mark am I right ?
Thank you again for your help.
Some members have had improvements even up to a year afterwards…worth trying the other things mentioned in the mean time… 
@Angie59 - Is it possible for you to go back to the surgeon who did your ES surgery & ask about removal of those s-h ligament calcifications & for an assessment of your hyoid bone? It’s possible that his focus was strictly on the styloids themselves & he overlooked these other things. He might be an ally in this case. Not everything you read about is fully accurate. For example: Dr. Hackman has gone back in & done revision surgeries for people who’ve had calcified ligaments left behind.
As Jules indirectly noted, it’s possible that what I’ve pointed out isn’t a problem at all, & your nerves are simply taking their time to heal. Recovery from ES surgery can be frustrating slow at times. Six months post op is a great point at which to assess what has improved & what remains. Pain can disappear so gradually you don’t realize it’s gone for awhile.
Again, thank you both for you support and advice …
I will see my surgeon next monday. I’m going to show him the pictures I posted, but I know for sure he looked carefully at the hyoid bone before surgery as he told me it was a little bit backward in my situation. Yet he did not mention the elongation nor the calcifications. He is a maxilo surgeon (head and neck) but not an ENT so I don’t think he works on the hyoid bone and has done surgery on it…
It’s so frustrating not to know if something is wrong.
I have some doubts about nerve healing as I really experience pain when swallowing and sometimes turning my head, as if something “rips” my throat. My physiotherapist thinks it can be due to tension in the muscles holding the hyoid bone but I feel the same tension in muscles right and left and only have pain swallowing to the right side.
Could nerve healing / muscle tension really provoke pain when swallowing ?
On the other side, this pain has subsided one day or two in the past month so I want to keep thinking it could be nerve healing. This fight has no end …
I will keep you posted! Thank you again Jules and Wendy 
YES! Muscle tension in particular could be “strangling” or pressing on the nerve that is causing your throat/swallowing pain. Nerve healing can also be quite painful. I shall continue to pray for your complete recovery, Angie. I am so sorry this has gone on & on for you.
I’m glad you’re going to see your surgeon again. Showing him the images you posted is a really good idea. If he can’t help, perhaps he can refer you to someone who can give a second opinion about the ligaments & hyoid bone or the cause of your pain in general.
Please keep us updated.
One of our Canadian members, @CJsBattle has been exploring HBS, he posted some info in their group you might find interesting:
‘The symptoms of Hyoid Syndrome that are most common include a strangulation sensation, pressure on the anterior throat, pain at the tips of the hyoid bone horns, difficulty swallowing, pain swallowing, clicking/rubbing in the throat, foreign body sensation (feels like something is caught in the throat), ear pressure, tension and pain in the neck, jaw, styloids, throat, eyes, cheekbones, ears, shoulders, collarbone, skull base. Dizziness particularly when turning head or when looking down (neck flexion).’
Tenderness of the hyoid cornu is a symptom, here’s how to find them:
The hyoid can be found very easily at the front of your throat. With your index finger and thumb on either side of the hyoid, just work your way towards the back until you reach the tips. The tips may be buried under your SCM muscles.
Hello!
Here is a little update after my appointment with my ES surgeon. I explained all my symptoms and showed him some pictures of my hyoid bone and what I thought could be calcified little horns or elongated great horns. He carefully listened and did a full exam. He is quite 100% sure that all my issues are muscular. Bad postures and habits for a year with ES symptoms before surgery and after surgery, resulting in a vicious circle of tense muscles creating pain, creating more tension, reinforcing pain… This could be one reason why PT does not work since surgery, as every move or massage induces more pain on tense muscles…
He put me on muscle relaxers (as you said Jules!) and encourages me to come back to PT and do everything to reduce these tensions - He suggested might have it before ES symptoms and it could be a reason why these calcifications to appear.
He says everything is fine with my hyoid bone, rather small compared to others, and it could not produce such symptoms. The clicking comes from the larynx cartilage - not from the hyoid. He was very reassuring but convinced I need to work on these tensions if I want to heal properly. I take the meds for 1 week and my swallowing immediately improved. However, I still have these tensions and pain in the larynx area.
I hope this can be helpful for some people still struggling after surgery!
If you have any advice to release those painful muscles on throat, I’ll be happy to read you!
Take care!
I’m glad that he listened to you & hopefully reassured you about the hyoid bone…
There have been some suggestions from other members that posture & muscle tension could contribute to calcification so their thinking is along the same lines as your doctor! I hope that you’re able to continue with gentle PT & that it helps along with the muscle relaxants, 
I’m so glad your surgeon was so supportive when you saw him last week. That is a gift! It sounds like he has a very good understanding of what can cause ES.
There are some good videos on YouTube for treating “military neck” i.e. the term used when one loses the lordotic curve in the cervical spine due to poor posture, & it becomes straight). I agree with @Jules. Keep taking the muscle relaxers & when you go back to PT ask that any manual work be done extremely gently.
So glad you’ve already had some positive changes from the new medication. Please let us know how you’re doing going forward. 