Left styloidectomy and C1 resection yesterday went well. Left IJV has been freed up but didn’t, yet, change in caliber. As expected I’m pretty sore from suboccipital to trap on left side. Dr. Nakaji said that since I’m pretty small he had to do a lot of retraction to make enough room for him to work. Left ear and jawline are numb but all nerves are intact and doing their jobs. Dr. Nakaji just came through for rounds and said that given the small size of my veins I am likely going to need the right side done to get adequate flow. But he wants to see how it goes over the next 6 weeks (that’s his timeframe for deciding about the other side). I highly recommend him. He is one of the group (Hepworth, Hui et al) who are really trying to understand VES and develop best practices. He developed his technique methodically by practicing different angles of approach and different amounts of resection on hundreds of cadavers and using 3D modeling. And of course he has performed the surgery on folks like us many many times. He has a great bedside manner and explains everything so clearly. I’m hoping to get discharged in the next few hours and recover a few more days in the hotel before returning home. Thanks to all for you support and sharing of your knowledge.
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Thanks for the update, I’m glad that the surgery is done…I hope that you heal well and that your IJV does open up, praying for a speedy recovery 
Thank you so much for your update, @Chrickychricky, and for the endorsement of Dr. Nakaji. Your incision looks good, but your skin is pretty red beneath it. Has anyone commented on that? I hope it’s just irritation from the surgery.
I’ll be praying for your IJV to open ASAP. It can take some time to normalize if it’s been compressed for awhile. I’m glad you’re taking a few days to recover before traveling home. I’m also glad they kept you in the hospital over night to keep an eye on you after surgery.
Please give us healing updates periodcially so we know how you’re doing.
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Glad to hear you’re on the other side, @Chrickychricky! Take it easy and don’t overdo it. I was feeling pretty good fairly fast, and found it was easy to do more than I should have… and would feel the effects soon after! So be gentle with yourself! Hope you heal well and begin to notice steady improvements. Keep us updated.
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So glad to hear that surgery went well @Chrickychricky It sounds like you have had a good experience with Dr. Nakaji & that he is one of the doctors who is really trying to figure out how to best help people with VES. I hope that things start to improve quickly., but do take it easy since your body went through a lot during the surgery… Best wishes for a great recovery!
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