I saw Dr. Gillaspie in Charlotte today. Me and my brother were unimpressed. I found him to be very strident in his opinions and attitude, very little in terms of warmth and compassion. And unless the styloids are 30mm (mine are 26), he will not do surgery. End of story, no discussion. I tried to poke holes in his 30mm standard but he didn’t want to hear it. No concerns about mitigating factors that could cause a shorter styloid to cause a problem such as the styloid being curved. Pretty much the same thing Dr. Jones at Charlotte Eye Ear Nose and Throat told me. Apparently they’re just not long enough to warrant a risky surgery. I’m out of ideas at this point, maybe the styloids aren’t the problem. This right styloid looks pretty menacing to me but these doctors are unimpressed.
@jrhode2873 - I highly recommend you get a consult with Dr. Hackman in Chapel Hill. He’s operated on people w/ normal sized styloids that were symptomatic for one reason or another. He’s not one who looks only at length. He bases his diagnosis on symptoms. Your right styloid looks dangerously close to the transverse process of C1 & the greater horns of your hyoid look very close to your spine in the scan above. If nothing else, get Dr. Hackman’s opinion. He’s done many ES surgeries & has helped many of our members.
I do agree that if you can see Dr Hackman it would be good to get his opinion; there are doctors who consider the styloid angle etc along with symptoms, for example Dr Osborne does that too. He does online consultations, but as you have an experienced ES doctor in your area you might as well consult him first… So sorry that you didn’t get any help, unfortunately so many doctors have set ideas of what ES is or isn’t!
Yeah that’s pretty much what I’m thinking also. I will probably go see him, thanks.
I have a video call with Dr. Osborne on Monday and depending on how that goes, I will go see Dr. Hackman who is much closer to me. I get the feeling that Dr. Gillaspie has been sued before because during my appointment he brought up the subject of lawsuits 4 or 5 times. I guess that’s why he’s so strict on the 30mm standard although it seems pretty lazy to me to be unable or unwilling to defend a surgical decision based on a one dimensional standard like that. He did admit to me that he realizes some people will fall through the cracks because his strict adherence to that rule.
I totally agree with you here & am sorry for Dr. Gillespie’s lawsuit experiences which seem to have shackled him medically.
Let us know how it goes with Dr Osborne- we’ve heard good things about him, just a shame because of insurance more can’t have surgery with him!
Definitely agree with Dr Hackman. While your styloids may not be long, exactly how “thick” are they? I met with Dr.Osborne before meeting Dr. Hackman. Experience is best described as “night and day”. As for Dr. Gillaspie being sued? In CA it’s very difficult to sue a doctor, let alone a dentist. It’s a problem that we have in general because their so many people have been, and are harmed. One famous man who was harmed by a surgeon looking to make $$? Ricardo Moltaban who was left wheelchair bound after several spinal surgeries.
My appointment with Dr. Osborne went well. He was very compassionate and came across as wanting to help. He straight up disagreed with what the other doctors told me. In his opinion, the 30mm standard is old and outdated and the standards need to be updated and re-written. He told me he has had patients with 20mm styloids that were absolutely ruining their life. I’m working on getting more of my medical records to him, so we’ll see how things go. I’m also gonna schedule an appointment with Dr. Hackman at some point.
Good to know that he’s aware of shorter styloids being able to cause symptoms, & I’m glad that you found him helpful…others have spoke well of him too, he sounds like a good listener!