Great surgeon in CT (for ES)

For anyone in the Connecticut or New York Metro area, here’s a Dr that is great for this surgery.

Dr. Clarence T. Sasaki, MD is at Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, CT. He is a ENT-otolaryngologist. I will warn you though, his bedside manner is a bit dry. But he is a very caring and pleasant person. I think he’s just a “quiet” type. He’s a fabulous doctor/surgeon though.
Some info (from link below):
“Dr. Sasaki is listed in “Who’s Who in the East,” “Who’s Who in America,” “Who’s Who in Cancer,” “Who’s Who in Medicine and Health Care,” “Who’s Who in Science and Engineering” and “Who’s Who in the World.” He is listed among Woodward&White’s “Best Doctors in America”, Castle Connolly’s “Best Doctors in New York Metro Area” and Castle Connolly’s “America’s Top Doctors.””
If you want to read about him, either google his name, or here is a link.
http://surgery.yale.edu/people/clarence_sasaki.profile

He does deal with mostly head and neck cancer patients (sinus, throat, tonsil, etc.) but also does other things. ES among them. He does this internally. Most times outpatient (Home same day).
I had to stay because I had oxygen level issues. But I only stayed one night. Followed his instructions to the T and I only had the post-op follow up and he said I was good. Don’t need to come back. :ok_hand::+1:

Sorry, just read your further post about your surgeons details. Wow, they are certainly amazing credentials and seem lucky to have found him. Did you have an elongated styloids process or cassified ligament?

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Thanks for the info, I don’t think he’s on our last, I’ll add him in next time I update it. Really glad that you’re doing well post-surgery! :grinning:

Excellent news about your surgery & recovery! Thank you for the encouraging update!!

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I’m assuming calcified ligament, I asked him at post op follow up. He said that what he did was scrape the ligaments off of the styloid. Sounds kind of creepy, I mean what’s going on in there now? They’re just kind of “hanging around” in there? Haha
I pray they don’t find their way back and reattach. Still having some issues swallowing properly and my voice was weird. But he told me to give it a few more weeks. Apparently I had intubation during surgery. I didn’t know this until post op follow up. Maybe they told me post op but maybe I was still drugged up and don’t recall it. I did have to spend one night there because my oxygen wasn’t good and they wanted to watch that. But I was fine the next day.

Hi Rearcar1, thank you for your responses and I hope you are doing well with your recovery. Hopefully your issue with swallowing has improved over the last week. I understand that it takes some time for pain with swallowing to improve with this surgery. I hope to hear of your progress and sending you many blessings. xx

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Thank you! I’m not having pain with swallowing at all. I was literally pain free the moment I woke from surgery. I’m just having trouble swallowing. It’s kind of like the muscles on the right side aren’t cooperating. The last little bit of whatever I’m eating just kind of sits there. Not large portions just little bits. It’s more annoying than anything else. But yes, it’s slowly improving. Hoping it’s gone soon as I’m now on two months since surgery.
All in all, I’m still very thankful that the pain is gone and I’m on this side of it all. As you (all) know, ES isn’t a pain anyone wants to deal with. It’s not something I’d wish on anyone.
Thanks for all the encouragement and well wishes.
Merry Christmas :christmas_tree: Happy Holidays :gift: Happy New Year to you all! Xoxo

Hi Rearcar1, so happy to hear that the ES pain has gone with surgery, and with a little more time I hope that the swallowing diffulity improves for you as well. Agree, that it is a journey and truly wonderful that you are now over the biggest hurdles. Wishing you and all the ES members a very Merry Christmas. :evergreen_tree::star2: xx

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I “third” the wishes for a Merry & Blessed Christmas &/or holiday season & a New Year filled with many great & happy adventures!! :heartbeat:

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Thank you very much Vkossa.
Merry Christmas to you and yours as well. :christmas_tree::two_hearts:

Thank you! I wish you the best holidays too Isaiah.

Hello I live very close to Yale and just contacted this group last week expecting a call back Tuesday. Did you have a numb face prior to surgery? My right side of my face is numb with sharp pain behind my ear and eye

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I did have some numbness on the worst side- it took a little while to go after surgery, but is much better now. The nerves can get irritated by surgery too- some members have had numbness post-surgery, & I did have some on the other side, that’s improved too.

Hi everyone. I am from connecticut. I was having tmj/tmd issues with my jaw for over a year with no help from the many doctors i seen. They kept acting like i was crazy. I finally found an LVI dentist in NY who did a CTscan of my head and neck. They told me i have eagles syndrome on the right side which was caused by the TMJ issues on the rigt side. They havent discussed it with me yet. Waiting on radiologist to review my scan first. Im waiting to hear back. Any advice would be appreciated. Surgery? Other options?

There’s lots of info in the Newbies Guide section about what’s involved in surgery & also other options, so if you have time to read up I’d suggest you do that as much as you can so that you can ask the right questions…
Basically surgery is the only permanent treatment for ES, to remove the styloids and any calcified ligaments, but there are risks, so it should be thought through properly. if you get to the point where the symptoms are badly affecting your quality of life, then it’s worth the risk, but if they’re not too bad, some people decide to live with it. Some members have had lidocaine/ steroid injections into the area which has helped alot, but this is usually only temporary, & can only be done a few times. I think there’ve been a few others who’ve had success with chiropractors (but you need to be really careful with that one or they could make things alot worse!), and there are medications which can help, but I’m guessing you’ve perhaps tried some of that for your TMJ?
But the best advice is to get as much info as you can, & if you do decide surgery is the right path for you, then go to as experienced a doctor as you can, even if you have to travel, & make sure that they are going to remove as much of the styloid process as possible, & any calcified ligaments. (Inexperienced surgeons don’t always understand that!)
Let us know how you get on!

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THank u for the response. I have not tried anything dor tmj yet. Ive been seeking help for a year now with noone listening to me or helping me. All doctors acted like i was crazy. I finally found a doctor to help me in NY and they discovered the eagles syndrome caused by the TMJ. i am supposed to get a splint on thursday and discuss eagles syndrome as well. Ive been reading up on it. And keep thinking im going to die at any moment. Where can i read about the ups and downs to surgery i havent had any luck finding that information? How does it affect yoh if you have it removed

Some of the symptoms can be scary, but complications with ES are thankfully extremely rare- & if you add in that the Syndrome itself is very, very rare… The styloid process is an anchor really for other ligaments, but there don’t seem to be any effects when it’s removed- I certainly haven’t felt any difference with eating, swallowing or talking etc!
The info is all in the Newbies Guide section (scroll down the list on the left side of the home page, click on Newbies Guide, & there’s lots of subsections of Info). Here’s a link to save you time:

Hey Jules,
I hope you’re well. I just wanted to ask everyone if any of them just had the ligaments scrapped off of the styloid. The Dr told me that he did not remove my styloid, that he just shaved the ligaments off of it. I’m wondering if those little stinkers will find their way back and reattach themselves. I’ve been wondering this since the beginning but keep forgetting to ask Dr.
Also, today I have a very scary pain when I swallowed. Very Similar to the pains I would get before surgery. I really don’t think I could go through that again. It’s only been a couple of months. I’m terrified!!

No Ben I didn’t have any numbness. I did have the sharp pains though. Talk to them, tell them everything that you are experiencing. I would recommend Dr. Sasaki highly. I hope you get him. He is a bit dry in the bedside manner department but a great surgeon nonetheless. He’s very accredited. Good luck and I hope you have had some contact and maybe even surgery by now. Let me know how you’re doing.

They do scrape the ligaments off, but I would presume he’d have taken them out; if they were calcified & left in then they’ll likely still cause irritation. I can’t imagine that they’d reattach (although we’re not doctors on here), but they could still rub against other structures & cause pain if they were left in. THey are usually removed, so detached from the other end aswell (the hyoid bone end), but if you’re worried & getting more pain then maybe speak to him again. The pain you’re getting could be nerve pain- it can take quite a while for things to settle down, even up to a year.

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