@ectocake it was 1 month for the first consult after I contacted his office, and 1 month after the consult for surgery. He removed both of my styloids during the same operation. With a calcified ligament attached to the hyoid bone, your surgery may be more complicated than mine was. I have also seen posts from other forum members that have mentioned a longer wait time for appointments, so my experience may not be typical. After the runaround I experienced with scheduling at UFHealth, I felt very lucky to get in for the consult and surgery so quickly.
I think that Dr Hackman is busier now so heās not able to see patients as quickly, the drawback of going with a very experienced surgeon!
In front of the ears is a less common way to do external surgeryā¦
Re recovery, I wouldnāt perhaps read too much into a doctor minimizing surgery recovery, as lots of even the most experienced doctors donāt understand what the recovery is like, and to be fair it does vary greatly with people. If the styloids are very close to nerves the nerves might have to be moved out the way & then get more irritated & painful after surgery.
My recovery was much easier after my second surgery, and both were done by the same surgeon. First time I couldnāt open my mouth wide at all, & was 10 day(ish) before I could eat properly, whereas the second time I could eat fine afterwards.