I met with Dr. Campbell today here in Indiana, up around Avon if anyone knows where that is. He was actually really nice. My husband went with me to support me, and help me ask questions that I probably wouldn’t remember to ask.
He does in fact do surgery on ES patients. He usually does around 6 a year. His specialty is in heck and neck, which he said he spends a lot of time in the neck.
I asked him about steroid shots, and he doesn’t seem to think that would be beneficial. We talked a lot about how the procedure would be done, mouth or neck. I feel like I’m leaning more towards the neck just because I’m worried about cauterizing my tonsils since he has to take them out. I’ve heard horror stories about that working in healthcare. We talked about recovery afterward, staying at least one night in the hospital. He said that for recovery that it would be at least a couple weeks off of work, but I would want more time. I think returning after a few weeks off when I work in healthcare is entirely too early. I’m lifting pts, and pulling pts up every single day. Anyone have thoughts about this?
I think that’s all the updates that I have for now! I’ll keep posting more when I know more, and decided on a date!
I thought that I would update everyone so we can put it on the doctors list that Dr. Campbell here in Indiana does do surgeries on ES patients.
I’m glad that you had a good appointment with him, and that he’s willing to do surgery! It’s good that he’ll do external / trans cervical surgery- generally the results are better with this method rather than intra-oral, and the recovery from that can be painful, so if you have the option I think it’s wise to avoid that… Did he say how much of the styloid process he can remove? As close to the skull base as is safe to do is your best chance of alleviating symptoms (some surgeons just remove the tip, or shorten it a bit). He’s on our doctors list, good to know he’s still doing surgery, and you feel confident with him…
I agree with you about needing longer off work if you do have to do lifting- for abdominal surgery they suggest 4-6 weeks before doing lifting, and neck muscles are involved in lifting too, so it seems sensible to leave it longer. I was just doing voluntary work when I had my surgeries, but did have to lift toddlers, so I took a month off, wouldn’t have wanted to lift them before that. So if you’re able, I’d have a good break and give yourself time to heal…please let us know when you have a date for surgery
It’s certainly good news that your appt w/ Dr. Campbell went so well, @Kgreene. I hope your surgery can be scheduled in the near future so you can put ES behind you. Will he do both sides at once or do you only have unilateral ES/symptoms? Sorry I can’t remember.
He said that he should be able to remove as much as possible getting to the base of the skull. I will try to get as much PTO as I can, so I can take as much time off as I feel is necessary! I’ll keep you posted when I decide and a date on the surgery.
If I want to I can do both sides at once, although he’s never done that before. He’s not had pts that had their styloids about the same length to where they need both removed. That would be my plan to remove both at the same time. I’ll keep you posted on a surgery date!
@Kgreene I would have been fine with having both sides done at once, but that wasn’t my surgeon’s typical practice. He did agree to do one side on Tuesday and the other on Wednesday. It worked out well, I would have done fine having both sides done the same day.
@Kgreene - Unless there are complications, ES surgery is typically done outpatient, even when both IJV decompression & styloidectomy are done together. There are a few doctors who routinely keep their patients in the hospital over night on surgery day so you’ll need to find out what Dr. Campbell’s policy is. I was sent home after all 3 of my ES surgeries & am so glad I was & didn’t have to deal w/ an overnight in the hospital.
@Kgreene My surgeries were outpatient, and there really wasn’t any reason I would have needed to stay overnight. It was definitely better to be in my own space afterward and able to unwind from surgery.
Recovery from the surgery itself was not difficult for me.
For me, it was more of an up-and-down healing process from years of compression and remodeling. Some days the improvements were obvious, and other days symptoms would flare or shift around, but I never felt like the surgery had not worked. Over time, the positives became much clearer. It took me about four months to really appreciate the benefits, and now at almost six months, what a difference. I am very glad I had both sides done at the same time. I am really happy to hear you have found a surgeon that is so supportive.
@Isaiah_40_31 Dr. Campbell wants me to stay the night just to make sure I’m doing alright. But I know that I couldn’t wait to be home. I feel that recovering in your own home and comfort place is better for you, but that’s just my opinion. So staying one night and then discharge the next day.
@MGORNEAU That’s great, I’m happy to hear that everything went well for you and that as time goes on you felt even better. Hearing everyone’s stories gives me hope that once I do the surgery I will feel better after a while.
It’s only one night, I had to stay in one night, it seems to be common in the UK… It was hard to sleep for sure, but in the scheme of things it’s not much…
