I had intraoral surgery with Dr. Schindler at Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU) in Portland, Oregon, about 2 weeks ago (February 11th). It was a huge success for me! I wanted to share my story and my preparation & recovery tips in case it’s helpful to someone else.
My situation is relatively uncomplicated. I had my tonsils removed almost 25 years ago and it appears that my stylohyoid ligaments calcified afterward. I wasn’t diagnosed until last year. A CT scan showed that the right one was longer (4.8cm) and thicker than the left, and I had more/worse symptoms on the right side, so I had the right one removed first. I’m talking to the doc about having the left one removed, too.
This write-up ended up becoming really long, so I tried to organize it with headings to make it easier to digest.
I appreciate this community so much. I was mainly a lurker/reader before my surgery, but wanted to give back now that I have some useful experience to share. A special thanks to @Isaiah_40_31 for checking on me and sharing some encouragement right after surgery!
My Eagle symptoms
My main symptoms are/were:
- teeth clenching with pain in one specific molar, which I cracked repeatedly from the clenching
- neck tightness and pain
- restricted neck mobility (especially looking up)
- shoulder tightness, pain, and burning behind shoulder blade
- pain sleeping on my side (either side, progressively worse over time)
- snoring/sleep apnea
- mild difficulty swallowing (without foreign body sensation)
- eustachian tube dysfunction
- whooshing and heartbeat in ears
- headaches
- tinnitus
There are also symptoms that I’m not sure are related (SIBO, recurrent shingles of the trigeminal nerve) and ones that I’m pretty sure are not related (allergies, perimenopause stuff).
I initially consulted with Dr. Schindler last Spring and took some time to consider surgery. He didn’t know if my shoulder pain would improve but seemed more confident that it would positively impact the face/jaw and ear symptoms.
Other treatments I tried
Before I knew I had elongated styloids, I had tried stretching, yoga, massage, meditation, and physical therapy to help with headaches, decrease neck tightness/increase mobility, and improve shoulder function. These treatments helped my symptoms to a certain degree.
I also started sleeping on my back 7-10 years ago to reduce pressure on the tight areas. Sleeping like a corpse did help alleviate some pain and reduced my teeth clenching, but it also led to more snoring. Over the last few years I developed the additional symptoms of eustachian tube dysfunction, tinnitus, and I starting hearing whooshing/heartbeat sounds in my ears at times.
The more I paid attention to my symptoms and how they were triggered, the more I became convinced that surgery would be a net positive, even if there were some drawbacks (physical changes, unforeseen side effects, etc.). I saw Dr. Schindler for a final follow-up in November 2024. After discussing the surgery with him at some length, I decided to move forward. The scheduler called me a few weeks later and the date was set for February 11th.
Surgery experience
Before surgery
Although my surgery was scheduled in late-December to be done on February 11th, I didn’t have a specific check-in time. They asked my preference for morning or afternoon, and I requested afternoon so I wouldn’t have to wake up early in case I had trouble sleeping the night before. I also got scheduled for a pre-op appointment, which happened at the end of January.
At the pre-op appointment, they ran some basic bloodwork and checked that my vitals were normal. Then a nurse practitioner who works in anesthesia walked through all the medications and supplements I take. He told me which ones I could keep taking, and which ones I should pause before surgery, and for how long. He answered all the questions I had about anesthesia and about preparing for surgery. I had a few more questions about the surgery and recovery, and I got those answered by sending a message to Dr. Schindler’s office through the online portal.
On Friday, February 7th, OHSU called and told me to be there on the 11th at 1:00pm.
At the hospital
I checked into the surgery center at OHSU (South Waterfront) at 1:00pm. It’s a modern and comfortable facility and everyone was friendly and helpful. I barely waited at all to be taken back. By 2:00pm, I was prepped and the doctors started coming around to discuss the plan, have me sign forms, etc. At 2:30pm, one of the anesthesiologists gave me something by IV to calm my nerves. The last person I remember coming in was my OR nurse. She was amazing. She gave me a hug (I was a bit teary) and told me she’d be with me the whole time.
I remember being wheeled into the operating room and shifting myself over onto another table. Then came a question I did not expect: would I like to hear any music? They said they had everything, and they were not lying – I asked for my favorite ambient album and it started playing. After listening to a couple minutes of music the anesthesiologist said I would start to feel sleepy, and that’s all I remember until I woke up in recovery.
Surgery lasted from 3:00-4:30pm. Dr. Schindler removed 2.6cm of my 4.8cm right styloid through an incision just behind my teeth, at the spot where my tonsil used to be. The throat muscle layer was stitched up separately from the mucosal layer using undyed Vicryl stitches.
When I woke up around 5:30pm, I was in the recovery room under a warm blanket with automatic massage cuffs on my calves. There was a cup of iced water (with a sipping lid) and some applesauce waiting for me. I could tell immediately that my right shoulder felt way better. I don’t know how else to describe it other than to say that my shoulder felt “unhooked,” like it could move independently of my head/neck in a way I haven’t felt in forever. I could also move my head/neck more easily in certain directions.
As soon as I was awake, the nurses checked on my pain levels (6 out of 10). They gave me some small tablets to swallow, which I took with the applesauce. My tongue and throat were still numb on the right, but my jaw felt sore in an irritated-nerve way. I asked for ibuprofen, which helped a lot. Around 6:00pm they let my husband come to see me and I was starting to feel pretty lucid. I got dressed and started walking around a little, and by 6:30pm I felt ready to go. I was offered a wheelchair down to the parking garage, but I felt like walking.
After surgery
We were home by 7:00pm. The first thing I wanted was food since I’d only had the applesauce cup to eat since the night before. I semi-heated up some carrot soup and some pinto bean mash, which I had premade (more info in recovery tips below). Spoons were too painful to use (because they require participation from the tongue), so I ended up just sipping the soup directly out of the bowls. I washed the food down with iced water (in a cup with a sipping lid), which felt great. Then I took a shower (didn’t want hospital germs in my clean sheets). I spent the evening in my most comfortable chair and iced my neck, a tip I learned here on the forum.
Pain meds were due at 10:30pm. My husband had picked up my prescription from the OHSU pharmacy, which was liquid oxycodone. We also had acetaminophen and ibuprofen at home. The recovery nurse and the discharge paperwork both told me exactly what time I could take the next dose of each type of medication. This was incredibly helpful, so I made my own chart to track all the medication timings (more below). This helped me stay on track despite being medicated, and helped my husband keep track so he could help me.
The medication made me tired so I went to bed. Flossing my teeth was easier than I expected, but brushing was harder. I thought that a manual toothbrush would be more gentle post-surgery, but the electric one was more comfortable to physically maneuver and it did a better cleaning job. Cleaning my mouth really well has consistently reduced my pain significantly (more below).
Before leaving for the hospital, we had put fresh sheets and pillow cases on the bed, and I set myself up with a wedge pillow. Dr. Schindler didn’t specifically advise a wedge pillow, but I had seen that post-surgery tip from other Eagle folks, and I already had one. I was definitely more comfortable on the wedge for the first week or so after surgery.
I was advised not to set an alarm to wake myself for pain meds because sleeping is important. The alarm turned out not to be necessary. I woke up naturally pretty much right on time for the next dose of medication at 4:30am.
Recovery
First week
In the first few days after surgery, I didn’t feel very hungry at all. I ate (let’s be real: drank) the food I had prepared a few times a day anyway. But plain, cold water was my favorite thing of all for several days. I’d gotten myself some popsicles beforehand, but didn’t even feel like trying those for a while. One other cold thing I loved from the start is coconut yogurt mixed with applesauce, especially good for breakfast.
I actually felt great the first few days despite some throat pain. That’s because the numbness from the injections and nerve-jangling during surgery probably took 4-5 days to wear completely off. I was mildly annoyed by how the right side of my tongue felt for several days (tingly and weird). My pain levels went a little up and a little down over the first week, but I seemed to be generally improving day over day.
On day 7 after surgery I was feeling like I’d turned the corner. I had only used the strong pain medication at night for several days, with just the OTC meds during the day. So I decided to eat some non-blended food for dinner… which probably contributed to my mucosal stitches falling out a little later that night. That ended up being extremely not great, 0 stars, do not recommend. Dinner was good but, in retrospect, not worth it.
Dr. Schindler had told me before surgery that my (top-layer) stitches might fall out but that I shouldn’t be worried if they do. He said they were “for comfort” more than anything else. I really did not understand what he meant by that until the majority of them fell out. My pain level jumped back up from a 3 to about an 8 and I nearly passed out. Fortunately, I still had the strong meds and needed those around the clock for another day and a half before the pain became tolerable again. My husband did a grocery run and I made a fresh batch of pureed soup (more below). I didn’t try non-blended food again for a few more days.
Current status: about two weeks after surgery
Today was day 12 after surgery. I’ve felt better every day since day 9 or so. I took my last dose of strong pain meds last night. The pain I feel now is mild and 400mg of ibuprofen a couple of times a day keeps me feeling fine. I still can’t stick my tongue out much or open my mouth very far without some pain. I still have one stitch that I can see, down between the back corner/side of my tongue and just behind my back teeth. My tongue pulling on that stitch is probably the source of a lot of that pain, but I’m not in a hurry to help it fall out (I learned my lesson). I think my incision might be a little longer/lower in my mouth than usual because the calcification had gotten so long. The incision is still visible and looks kind of like a tiny mucosal Grand Canyon, but I have very little pain aside from when I’m trying to chew.
My right shoulder has continued to feel like it has been “freed” and no longer hurts like it used to. I’ve been able to sleep on my right side with very little pain and I don’t need to use the wedge pillow anymore. My sad cracked & crowned tooth doesn’t hurt at all! I do have a small amount of tension in my right neck/shoulder junction, but it feels more like my muscles are trying to adjust to a new configuration. How it feels changes a little every day.
My husband says I haven’t snored since the surgery. I can move my head more freely in certain directions (which my husband refers to as my “neck tricks” 
). My right ear seems to equalize more easily each day. I think the tinnitus is improving, but it’s hard to tell and will probably take longer to know. I generally feel more relaxed, peaceful, relieved. That’s difficult to quantify, but is noticeable and was unexpected.
I have been eating some non-blended (but still soft) food again since day 9, like rice + mushy vegetables + ground meat or bean bowls, but my tongue (where the remaining stitch is) finds chewing very tiring and quickly becomes irritated, even if I take small bites. I’m trying not to overdo it, but I also want to make sure I’m eating enough protein for healing. I made 2.5 gallons of beef bone broth in advance of this surgery to add protein to my soups, but I already ran through all of that. I’ll probably make more like 4 gallons next time (more below).
I’m still recovering, but that’s basically my story! The rest of this post is about how I prepared for surgery, and some tips I’ve collected that helped my recovery.
Surgery preparation & recovery tips
I’m the type of person who manages stressful (foreseeable) situations by preparing as much as possible. I tried to gather as much information as I could beforehand, but I wasn’t able to find any single, centralized trove of preparation guidance. So I thought I’d share some of the ways I prepared for a good recovery, and the notes and tips I’ve collected. Some of my notes are specific to intraoral styloidectomy and some are just general surgery/recovery thoughts.
General notes
Things I worried about that I shouldn’t have
Physical changes/downsides - I worried that my hyoid bone would be be left sitting side-saddle, or would otherwise be or feel weird after the surgery (it’s fine!). I also worried that my throat might collapse without the ligament (er, bone), or that I wouldn’t be able to swallow as well as I could before. My actual throat space feels the same or more open, and swallowing is a little easier.
Becoming temporarily mute - I worried that talking would be excruciating right off the bat. Talking hasn’t really a problem unless I try to do a lot of it, and it’s not exactly pain for me, more like “tiredness” of the throat and tongue muscles. As you can see, I sometimes have a lot to say! 
Sleep apnea - I worried that the surgery would make my snoring worse. My husband reports that I have not snored since the surgery (but YMMV)!
Things I didn’t worry about that I should have
Hydration - I thought I did a good job of hydrating before surgery, but my IV placement ended up being kind of an ordeal. It was the worst part of my surgery experience by far. I wish I had focused more on hydration since it’s the only part of the process I could control.
Resting activities - I didn’t think about how tiring it would be to look down (or up) at devices while trying to chill and rest in bed or in a chair. Next time I’ll make sure to have some methods of propping up books/tablets/etc. My husband came to the rescue on that front and rigged up a phone holder so I could watch bad TV or FaceTime with friends.
Time off work - I had surgery on a Tuesday and returned to work the following Wednesday (remote work, desk job). In retrospect, I should have taken through the rest of the following week. The main problem is just how tiring it still is for my tongue and throat muscles to talk, make certain facial expressions, etc.
Preparing home recovery areas
Cleaning
I tidied and vacuumed/dusted both the bedroom and the living room the day before surgery. In addition to wanting to make sure my recovery zones were clean, I have a severe dust allergy and I had a feeling that sneezing would be painful. The fear of sneezing did itself keep me from sneezing several times the first week after surgery, but I’m sure the vacuuming and dusting also helped.
Sheets & blankets
Follow your own doctor’s instructions, of course, but my instructions said to shower the night before and sleep in clean bedding/pajamas. After vacuuming/dusting, I changed the bed linens and I also made sure I had a clean blanket next to my chair in the living room. I washed extra pillow cases so I could change those every couple days right after surgery. I made sure I had lots of clean pajamas and warm socks ready to go.
Things to do
I personally do not enjoy taking opiate pain medications because it makes my brain feel melted. The only thing I could handle doing the first week after surgery was watching bad TV in my favorite chair.
Things to not do
I put away anything I didn’t want to catch my attention while I was recovering. I spent the previous Friday at work getting everything there squared away so I wouldn’t be bothered. I closed all the browser tabs and apps on my phone, washed and put away all the pots and pans I’d used for cooking, etc. I left everything at home as tidy as possible so it wouldn’t be stressful later.
Starting with a clean mind
A week before my surgery, a friend who works in the medical field did a guided visualization with me to prepare my mind for surgery. She had looked up a video of the intraoral styloidectomy surgery (I don’t recommend doing that) and then she verbally guided me through a visualization/meditation about what was going to happen. We imagined walking into OHSU, going upstairs, getting prepped for surgery, the surgery itself (high-level details only), waking up in recovery, getting dressed, riding home in the car. After we did this, I really felt ready. The night before surgery, I walked through it again as I was falling asleep. I can’t recommend visualization strongly enough.
Two days before surgery, I also started guarding my chill by stopping myself from doing certain … non-essential stressful activities. (You know what I’m talking about, internet people: I implemented a moratorium on doomscrolling.) I had a lot of cooking and other preparation left to do, so I wasn’t entirely bored. And it absolutely helped me to relax and start focusing on getting through surgery and into recovery.
Starting with a clean mouth
The night before the surgery, I set out to make my mouth a clean zone. I changed the head on my electric toothbrush to a fresh one, I flossed and brushed extremely well, and I used a water flosser with a splash of hydrogen peroxide added. I also used the tongue scraper. I sometimes use a manual toothbrush, so I changed that one out for a fresh one, too.
The following morning, I brushed my teeth as usual. My mouth still felt extra clean, so I didn’t feel like I needed to use floss or the water flosser again. Immediately before we left for the hospital, I brushed my teeth one more time with the electric toothbrush. I also wore a fresh N95 mask in the hospital before the surgery just to limit any weird bacteria (or viruses, or whatever) flying in.
Keeping a clean mouth
Throughout my recovery, I’ve noticed that my pain level drops immediately after I clean my mouth. I continued flossing daily and brushing at least twice a day, which is my usual. (The flossing habit developed because I had cracked a molar from clenching my teeth and had it crowned in my 20s. The area around it tends to collect food bits and that’s uncomfortable.) I thought flossing after surgery would be difficult, but brushing is actually harder. I initially tried to use a manual toothbrush, but the electric one is much easier to maneuver in my mouth (smaller brush head) and does a better cleaning job anyway. If you have access to an electric toothbrush, I highly recommend it.
I usually brush my tongue after my teeth, but that’s off the table right now because I can’t open my mouth that wide or stick my tongue out very far. So instead I’ve been using a stainless steel tongue scraper. It’s easy to get into a slightly-open mouth and you can stick the scraper in rather than sticking your tongue out. Cleaning my tongue has helped an unbelievable amount to reduce pain in the general area, particularly after eating. I found the one I use at my grocery store.
I was not advised to do anything in particular to clean my wound. I have seen other folks mention diluted hydrogen peroxide rinses, for example after eating, but I asked the recovery nurse about that specifically and she advised against it. I just used warm slightly-salty water as a rinse and gargle after eating for the first week after surgery. That felt nice and reduced any pain or burning from eating.
Medications
I wasn’t allowed to pick up my pain medication in advance of my surgery (specifically: insurance wouldn’t cover it). But OHSU has a pharmacy in the same building as the surgery center so my husband was able to pick it up while waiting. Dr. Schindler made sure that the medication they called in to the pharmacy was liquid because he is the best.
Ibuprofen and acetaminophen have both been helpful additions to the pain medication. I alternated between them so that they would overlap (for example, if I take acetaminophen at 3:00pm then I’ll take ibuprofen at 6:00pm and so on). I made sure to have a bottle of each one before surgery. I was initially worried about being able to swallow the tablets after surgery, but that has not been a problem.
Tracking medication schedule
We got home with paperwork showing the exact times I could take the next dose of each type of medication: oxycodone, acetaminophen, ibuprofen. I had all the medications on the kitchen counter and made a little chart right next to it where we kept track of when the next dose should be. I didn’t plan to wake up at specific times to take medication, so the actual time I took a given medication could have been later than when it was due.
I was also obviously going to be medicated and knew I’d lose track. So we got a piece of paper and a pen and started writing down the actual time I took each medication, and then calculating the next time it would be due (6 hours after taking). This was incredibly helpful in the middle of the night when I’d be taking meds and only had to remember to write down what time it was.
To illustrate what I mean, here’s one of my actual tracking sheets (
means taken right on time):
Recovery food
Iced water
Having a cup of iced water with a sipping lid available at all times was helpful. The sipping lid helped eliminate any concerns about spillage or getting ice in my mouth or on my teeth (I hate that feeling). For me, iced water felt great on the incision until the mucosal layer of stitches fell out on day 7. I preferred room temperature water with a little salt in it for a couple days after that because it burned less on the wound. I can drink cold, room temp, or warmish liquids now on day 12.
Post-antibiotic recovery
I didn’t know it was coming in advance, but I found out from the post-op notes that I was given an antibiotic by IV. I’m not a huge fan of antibiotics unless they’re absolutely necessary, but I do see why preventing infection after oral surgery would be a good time to use them. My digestive system was definitely adversely affected and I was glad to have prepared foods in advance that I knew would support microbiome recovery.
Preparing food in advance
I have some allergies including that I don’t tolerate sugarcane very well, so I knew I couldn’t rely on the usual protein shakes, puddings, ice cream, jello, etc. that people usually eat after oral surgery. I’m also a firm believer that good nutrition is key to healing, so I decided to make an assortment of soups and mashes for myself in advance. I also bought a selection of plain apple/fruit sauces and plain coconut yogurt, and a box of 100% fruit juice popsicles. I had read that popsicles were difficult for some people to eat after surgery, though, so I didn’t want to count on them. Now I know that they are difficult to eat because of the tongue participation requirements!
I took the day before surgery off of work and spent most of that day cooking (and cleaning). Below is a high-level list of the food I prepared.
Beef bone & meat “nutrient broth”
If you can only “eat” liquid food, it’s important to make sure it’s nutritious. Post-surgery, protein intake is also super important. To those ends, I made two batches of what I call “nutrient broth” like this: 1 pound of beef bones, 1 pound of beef roast, an onion, 2-3 carrots, some leeks, a few cups of fresh herbs, and some other vegetables & spices (ginger, turmeric, fennel, peppercorns, etc). Fill the rest of the pot with water and simmer it for about 3 hours. Then cover and let cool for 1-2 hours, then strain the liquid into mason jars. Each batch for me made just over a gallon of broth. I personally composted the remaining solids, but I’m sure they’re edible or could be used in some way.
I used an even mix of 1/2 gallon and 32oz mason jars to store the broth. I made my broth a couple weeks before surgery and froze it in the mason jars. I planned to use the broth for cooking on the day before surgery, so I moved all the jars of broth from freezer to refrigerator 3 days before that so they could thaw out.
NOTE: If you are freezing broth or soup, do not fill your mason jars past or even up to the part where the jar narrows! Leave some room, otherwise the jar will break when it freezes because the broth will expand a little upward and crash into the narrowed part of the glass.
Carrot / sweet potato / rutabaga soup
I made this soup using the nutrient broth as a base. I initially made two different batches using 1/2 gallon of broth each. I tried to include a variety of vegetables in each one to provide an assortment of nutrients and vary the flavors.
If you have an instant pot, making soup is super easy. Put in half a gallon of broth base, add whatever (peeled) vegetables you want to the broth and cook until everything is soft, then use an immersion blender right in the pot (or regular blender, but it’s messier) to puree everything. I made an “orange” batch with orange carrots, a white sweet potato, a garnet sweet potato, a rutabaga and half an onion, and a “purple” batch with purple sweet potatoes, purple carrots, and leeks.
I put my blended soups into large storage containers and into the refrigerator. I didn’t separate them into individual meals because I don’t have that many containers and because I wasn’t sure how much I would want to eat in one sitting. I also didn’t bother freezing the soup because I figured it would all be gone within 5 days (it mostly was).
NOTE: I don’t recommend using greens like kale or chard for the blended soups you plan to eat in the first few days. I found that the greens don’t puree very easily and ended up leaving little “bits” in my mouth, which got all up into my mouth’s business more than I would have liked.
Chopped greens soup
On the topic of greens, I set aside 3 of my smaller (32oz) jars of broth to make a simple soup with chopped greens. I didn’t go for these until I was comfortable using my tongue a little (day 3 or 4). I prepped for these soups in advance by chopping up kale and chard greens along with some onions and parsley and putting the vegetables required for each soup (dry) into its own storage container. I made three sets of greens/onions/parsley to go with the three 32oz jars of nutrient broth I had.
When I was ready to make a batch, I put 32oz of broth and all the vegetables from one storage container into the instant pot and cooked it for 15 minutes. I did actually puree the first batch of this soup with the immersion blender, but after that I realized that these are easier to eat and it was less of a hassle to clean my mouth afterward if they were not pureed.
Bean soup/mash
I made a pinto bean mash and a garbanzo bean mash. To give them a little flavor, I fried up a bunch of onion and garlic in some olive oil. I cooked two 15oz cans of each type of bean, then drained the liquid and rinsed them. Then the beans went back into their respective pots (I didn’t mix the types) with some water and half of the onion/garlic/olive oil mixture, and I used the immersion blender to puree them.
These were great for increasing protein intake, but also because they could be simultaneously warmed up and thinned out with boiling water from a kettle. So they can be either “mashes” or “soups” depending on how much water you add.
Other foods
Applesauce - amazing because it’s soft, it’s delicious and also it’s usually cold. I did find that it stung my wound a little (either because it’s acidic or maybe a mild allergy thing?), but it was nice to have a cold treat that didn’t require much tongue effort.
Yogurt - soft and cold, but also has beneficial bacteria. Dairy and I aren’t the best of friends, so I opted for coconut yogurt (Cocojune is my fave).
Popsicles - these are a nice treat, but I found them hard to eat until at least day 4. I’ve seen others mention that these are doable if they’re broken up into a bowl to eat with a spoon. Applesauce was tasty and cold, and just easier.
Farewell and good luck
My apologies for the length and any mistakes I might have made. If you’ve read this far, thank you and I hope it was useful! I know we all have our own unique path to walk on the Eagle Syndrome journey, but the posts of community members here helped me a lot in deciding on surgery, and I hope my story can be helpful to others as well.
