Tomorrow I will undergo stylloidectomy surgery in the city of Barranquilla (initially on the left side, which compresses the internal jugular vein). I am very distressed and at the same time excited. With doubts and fear, I hope they cut the size I need and not just the tip. Please include me in your prayers 
[date=2024-09-08 timezone=“America/Bogota”]
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Praying for you and your recovery. Bendiciones y abrazos. Todo va ha estar bien.
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I will be praying for you @Misael. Please ask to see the styloid after it’s removed as that will help you see how much was taken out. The doctor should also be able to tell you. Please do let us know how your surgery went when you feel up to it.
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Thank you very much, I will ask him to show me how much he cut, seriously I need him to leave a maximum of 1.5 cm to release the internal jugular vein from C1; if he doesn’t, I will know it was a failure. Thank you for your prayers
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@Misael Sending you healing thoughts!
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Best wishes for your surgery tomorrow! Will pray for good results and a speedy recovery, let us know how you are as soon as you’re up to that
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Hi Misrael, really feel for you! Reckon I’d be very nervous too! but it sounds like the right thing for you & you should be much better afterwards. Thinking of you and crossing everything that it all goes as well as it can for you. Like others are saying - great if you post again to tell us how you got on. Meanwhile GOOD LUCK! and take care!
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Hello everyone, thank you for your good wishes. Today is my third postoperative day and so far everything is going well. They removed 4 cm of styloid bone, although I think it should have been more, the distance from the tip to C1 was around 4.5 cm. I’m wondering if that cut will be enough to reduce the vascular symptoms. I’m still optimistic, though. Today they’re removing the drainage tube from my neck.
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I’m glad that you’re through surgery, it sounds a decent amount that was removed, so hopefully it will resolve your symptoms in the long run…take care, praying you heal well
Thank you for your update, @Misael. I bet you feel better with the drainage tube out! I hope your healing progresses steadily & your symptoms, especially vascular begin to disappear soon. I will be praying for that. 
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Hello everyone, today I’m on my 10th post-operative day, pain-free but experiencing worse vascular symptoms than ever, brain fog, vertigo, and strange anxiety. Has anyone experienced worsening symptoms immediately after surgery or felt the same for the first few days? When did you start noticing improvements?
Others have done for sure, recovery is definitely an up & down process, so try not to worry (easier said than done I know!) The anxiety could be an irritated vagus nerve after surgery maybe…I would still ice your neck if you can, & keep sleeping propped up if you’re able to do that, it could be that there’s still swelling…If things don’t settle down then maybe a course of steroids might help, some members have been prescribed a short course of prednisone after surgery. Hope that it does improve soon
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I can’t express how grateful I am to have found this group. Yesterday, I was considering using Prednisone for a few days, and I’ll also apply some ice. The surgical area is still hard, and I suspect the edema might be worsening my symptoms. Thank you so much for the recommendations, I appreciate it greatly.
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@Misael - Post op swelling can last 4-6 weeks post op & with that comes increased pain & symptoms because the inflammation is putting pressure on your already irritated & sensitive nerves, vascular & other tissues. As @ Jules said, symptoms will come & go for awhile & some may take a year to resolve completely. I found 6 months post op was a real turning point for me, but I felt pretty normal by about 2 months post op. It can be a slow recovery but the fact you’re already noticing some positive changes bodes well for your longer term recovery to be more complete.
I am continuing to pray for your complete recovery.
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Thank you for your words, this has been really tough for me. I still feel a bit miserable with some dizziness and anxiety, it even scares me to go outside, it’s a strange feeling. My post-op leave ends today and I don’t know how to face tomorrow’s workday. I hope things will improve gradually. It’s reassuring to know that you felt better after a few months, I hope that’s my case too.
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I hope that you’re able to manage at work; that’s quite a short time off for major surgery, is there no way you could extend it?
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We recommend starting back part time so you can work a day & rest a day, etc. during the week & gradually get back to your full time schedule. Since you’re in the medical profession, your peers should understand that recovery from major surgery takes time & you should be allowed to have that so your symptoms don’t worsen due to stress & fatigue before they get better. I hope you’re able to negotiate for a bit more healing time!
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Hi friends, hope you’re all doing well. It’s been 6 weeks since my first styloid surgery, and it’s been quite complex. Symptoms have exponentially increased: vertigo, anxiety, feeling faint, sense of impending doom, fight or flight response, and significant dysautonomia. I want to believe it’s due to inflammation, but it’s been tough, and I’m still working. I had a follow-up CT scan to verify that the styloid length was shortened enough to decompress the left internal jugular vein, but it doesn’t seem to be sufficient. What do you think?
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I’m so sorry that your recovery sounds rough- it does sound as if your vagus nerve has been irritated by the surgery or post-op swelling, these are typical vagus nerve irritation symptoms. If you want a good explanation of these effects, @GrnyAny did a really detailed post, here’s a link to that:
Successful Surgery for severe Vagus Nerve Compression - General / Eagle Syndrome Stories - Living with Eagle
Unfortunately because you’ve not been able to take time off work, this could be inflaming the surgery site & setting healing back, so it’s a difficult situation…
Looking at your post-surgery CT, it doesn’t look as if anything was taken off the styloid at all, it looks (comparing it to the remaining side) as if it’s just the calcified ligament which was removed. So it may not be enough to stop any jugular compression, although we can’t tell from this image; if the jugular was being compressed between the C1 process and the styloid then hopefully the IJV should have more room as the styloid isn’t past the C1 process. It’s still early days for healing really, so there’s still plenty of time for things to improve, so hang in there, praying for you
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@Misael
I’m so sorry you’re having such severe post op symptoms but do agree w/ @Jules that it’s still very soon after surgery & the fact you had to go back to work so quickly after your operation may not have given your body the rest & recovery time it needed. Also, since your other styloid is still so long, it could be contributing to the symptoms you have.
It’s more ideal if the styloid can be cut back close to the skull base. Some doctors in the US leave 1 mm of styloid or less. A lot of doctors are afraid to cut the styloids that short for fear of injuring the facial nerve, but I think it depends on how your body is laid out internally ie in some cases, the styloid can be cut that short w/o causing a problem to the facial nerve. It looks like your surgeon was extra cautious & left the styloid even longer than 2.54 cm which is its natural length. Even shortening it to that point might be more helpful.
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