Thank you for your well wishes & especially prayers, @DeeCeeNorth!
I haven’t gotten to talk to Dr. Hepworth since my surgery & post op will be with his NP. Supposedly I’ll get a copy of the surgical report which should detail more specifically what was removed & moved. I plan to make a follow-up telehealth appt w/ him before I leave the office after my post op.
As far as the IJV goes, I think once the styloid is sufficiently shortened, he moves the IJV partially into the space the styloid took up. He’s also been intermittently using sheep intestinal tissue (don’t know the medical term for it) as a protective cover on the sections of the IJV that are more vulnerable to re-compression. He said he might do that in my case, but I haven’t heard if he did or not.
In a quickie post op phone call he told my husband there was accessory nerve involvement, and he had to move the nerve, but miraculously, I don’t have a sore shoulder from that. We’ve had several members who’ve had the accessory nerve involved w/ IJV compression so it’s not too uncommon.
Over time, we’ve had some members who had VES & had styloidectomies with Dr. Hackman where the VES didn’t resolve. There are situations where removal of the styloids to close to skull base is enough to allow the IJVs to open. @Jules had this experience. In other cases, C1 &/or other soft tissues are greater contributors to compression than the styloid. If those aren’t dealt with, then compression remains & specific IJV decompression surgery needs to follow. I’m sorry to say this may be what’s happened in your case.
Make sure to inform yourself about the possible side effects of gadolinium if your MRI on Thursday is w/ contrast. I had only temporary problems from it after my MRV but others have had ongoing trouble. MRI contrast risks / Gadolinium toxicity
I’m also very interested to learn what your consult with Kjetil Larsen turned up for you.