Hiya friends (cross posting this from FB), I need to ask patients of Dr. Hepworth and Costantino a question of how they chose which surgeon to go with, how surgery went, and how they felt they were handled post operatively. I am not gonna go into details of my surgical plan, and I already have a pro and con list. I am specifically asking for experience, what made you choose between these two surgeons and long term outcome. I am having a really hard time making a decision and I don’t feel wowed by anyone and it would really help me to hear from other people so I can make a better decision. Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.
This is a tough question as I don’t know Dr. Costantino and really didn’t make a decision, I was already a patient of Dr. Hepworth’s (for anosmia, repeat sinus/ear infections) when Eagles was discovered. I think Hepworth is thorough and knowledgeable in other areas besides ES which means he will spot other things vs just look for ES. I can’t speak to Dr. Costantino and offer any comparison.
I am almost 12 weeks post op. I can say I am very appreciative of Dr. Hepworth (he even helped me get through covid 1 month post op). So far, I am very grateful and appreciative.
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No no it’s okay! Even if you just saw Hepworth your opinion is valuable and needed. I do agree that Hepworth is willing to look in other areas and consider how other parts of the body are being impacted. Hepworth is considering Septoplasty (to fix my deviated septum) and Pyloroplasty (because I have gastroparesis) in addition to my styloidectomy, so it’s good to hear from other Hepworth patients that he is willing to do more. Can you tell me in your experience if you’ve had either the same procedures done, or if you had something else done additionally with your styloidectomy? and how did this go for you?
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He did a FESS surgery to correct one I previously had. I still had pockets in my sinus that were places for infection to hang out, he fixed that. It was done maybe 6 years ago and I don’t think looking for ES was as much on the radar as it is today. It would be great to be evaluated for ES as well as sinus issues (deviated septum, need for FESS,…) at the same time to speed things up. It seemed to take forever to peel the onion and address all the issues. It could also be possible the ES cropped up later? I’m not sure, I just know it’s been a long road.
The FESS surgery he did went well. That one has a tough recovery IMHO since your nose is plugged up. My body wanted to freak out during recovery since I couldn’t breath through my nose (seems to send me into fight or flight). Very uncomfortable, but it recovered well in the end.
I’ve mentioned previously, he also discovered a gallbladder issue (it was diseased and essentially dead). He caught it because some of my sinus infections were of bacteria usually found in the gut. The infection from the gallbladder was travelling up the lymph system and depositing in the left side of my neck, and getting into the sinus. Crazy, Sci Fi stuff. That really speaks to his breadth of knowledge and whole/functional medicine approach.
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Recovery from Eagles surgery would be pretty tough with a blocked nose too, as swallowing can sometimes be affected from the surgery, and if there’s swelling in the throat as well which sometimes happens…was Dr Hepworth thinking of doing the septoplasty in the same surgery?
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I agree w/ @Jules - having 3 surgeries packed into one that can already have a difficult recovery sounds pretty brutal. It would definitely be good to ask Dr. H about recovery from the septoplasty & pyloroplasty healing alongside a styloidectomy though getting them all done at once does mean only one recovery period vs two or three.
It can be either or! He offered to either do it at the same time to minimize trips since my family only has so much finances to spare for traveling or it can be a separate procedure. Same goes for the pyloroplasty . My family and I have to be careful about our finances because these trips are expensive and I’m not the only one needing medical procedures done. In fact, my twin sister will be having a styloidectomy with me no matter who we choose. So he was just being mindful of our situation which I greatly appreciate.
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He’s said that he’s had patients who have done all of these procedures before and recovered well from them, which is why he felt comfortable putting it on the table! He’s also said that it of course, varies from person to person and in terms of the pyloroplasty, it’s a temporary measure to help with my gastric emptying while I recover and that’s about it. You’re looking at about maybe 6 months of effectiveness overall? But a lot of folks with GP have this procedure done since gastric emptying delays can cause so many problems. And yes, his thought was that you have one recovery period vs 2 or 3 (and I am going to have to have another styloidectomy down the road regardless)
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That’s honestly really reassuring he is thinking about all of this. not many doctors are willing to go that far. I got that impression from him vs Costantino who was very laser focused on just what was going on with my head and neck and nothing else.
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Hepworth always seems to think outside the box!
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Yes can very much agree with that. He takes a full body approach and considers how the impact of your jugulars are affecting your whole body and not just your head and neck.
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