Having surgery in two days

On Thursday October 13th I am having transoral surgery at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago with Dr. Michiel Bove. The ear aches have become more than I can bear anymore. I am a bit nervous and would appreciate any good juju from this wonderful community as I undertake my healing. Thanks!

I really like Dr. Bove. He was very kind to me when I saw him and he convinced another doctor at Northwestern to do a surgery on me. (I needed an external surgery and Dr. Bove only does internal surgeries.) I’ve heard good things about people’s surgical experiences with him. So you’re in good hands. Best of luck to you! Keep us posted when you can.

Have you had time to have a read the info section about what to expect post-surgery, and read some of the discussions? There’s lots of info to let you know what to expect if you haven’t.
Best wishes- hope that all goes well, and wish you a speedy recovery. Will be praying for you,
God Bless, Jules

Two days post-op update. Throat is still sore and it hurts to swallow. Still on a liquid diet. I am very bruised and swollen around my jaw and neck. I’m applying ice packs to reduce the swelling. The liquid pain meds do help in reducing the pain level but they make me very sleepy. I know that sleep is one of the requirements for healing and I’m trying not to fight it. I was hoping that after surgery my ear pain would be a distant memory. I can’t say that however. It could be caused by the swelling, or I might find out that my chronic ear pain had nothing at all to do with ES, and that would really suck. Dr. Bove did a wonderful job of reducing the length of my styloid processes and he is really a wonderful doctor. I’ll keep you posted on the ear pain as the healing continues.

Hope that you heal well, and that the ear pain does go… Nerves can take ages to heal so patience is needed! Get lots of rest and keep taking those pain meds!
Best wishes, Jules

I hope the healing process continues well and that the ear pain disappears. You’re right - get lots of rest. Northwestern is a great hospital, so I’m glad that you had the surgery there.