Has anyone ever seen Benjamin L. Hechler, MD, DDS at Duke?
@Jules and @Isaiah_40_31 I finally was able to get videos of my ct scan. My ENT allowed me to take videos of the scans because for some reason Wake Radiology didnāt send the CD to them like they said they would.
Here is a google link to it!
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xXkSRR-IJcMTx_DjFYxasfubC_9GTFMX?usp=sharing
Asumhannah, what you have described is exactly what ES doesā¦It took me 17 yrs. to finally get diagnosed. I went to so many physicians in Houston, TX. and none of them could diagnosed me! I went through hell during those 17 yrs. It felt like I had a bone stuck on my left side and then, I started to get the same sensation on my right side.
I went to dentists, ENT doctors and nobody was coming up with the correct diagnosis. Allot of praying, crying, begging God to help meā¦Then, one day two ladies came to my door and told me I was going to moveā¦Long story short, I did move to Yukon, OK. and it is there that I went to Dr, Greg Krempl at OU Physicians. He diagnosed me with ES and a week later, one of his professor/colleague, Dr. R. Layton Runkle did the surgery. It was the surgery from hell. It took ME at least 3 months to recover because I am an insulin dependent diabetic.
It was a painful, long process for me but, I took it one day at a time and I had some praying friends who helped me get through it. My support system was my husband but, he had to work to support me and our two sonsā¦,I was lucky. Dr. Runkle went through my mouth and cut out calcified styloid on both sides and he removed my tonsils at the same time. I still see Dr. Krempl once a year to make sure everything is fine.
I am doing well and I have not had any symptoms of ES at all. My advice to you is, have the surgery. Why prolong your pain and misery. You are halfway thereā¦At least you have already been diagnosed and thatās half the battle. Praying that it all goes well for you and your recovery will go smoothly.,
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Hi Asumhannah,
I could see your styloid at various points in the video images where your head is in profile. I donāt have the training to read the CT slices from the top of the head down. Your profile photos arenāt at an angle where I can see the styloids or the hyoid bone. Iāll send you one of my 3D images so you can see what is easy for us to read. An image like mine can be made using a 3D slicer program such as this one:
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I just saw these responses Iām so sorry! Iāve been super busy studying for my actuarial exam on the 24th!
So Iāve got my appointment with Dr.Heckler this Monday, what should I expect, should I bring anything? I am determined to get these out and THIS YEAR.
Wish me luck all.
If youāve got copies of scans or reports Iād bring them. There are some questions that you should go prepared to ask if youāre considering surgery with Dr Heckler:
How many surgeries have they done?
What were the outcomes?
Is surgery intra-oral or external? (External is better as it gives the surgeon better visibility, more of the styloid can be removed & thereās less risk of infection, but members have had successful intra-oral surgeries)
How much of the SP will be removed? (as much as possible back to skull base is best)
Will all the pieces be removed & will the tip be smoothed?
Will the nerves be monitored during surgery?
And are there any steroids prescribed for swelling- not everyone does, it can help, youāll need to ice & sleep semi-upright anyway.
I hope your exam goes well, & also your appt on Monday. Let us know how you get on!
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Hey @Jules, so after seeing Dr. Heckler today he confirmed my Eagle Syndrome and said that I do need surgery. He would want to do the surgery intra-orally, he also told me that he is good friends with Dr. Hackman and that Dr. Hackman would likely also want to do the surgery intra-orally and with robotics equipment and remove my tonsils as well. Dr. Heckler suggested that I actually get the surgery done by Dr. Hackman because he has more experience with the surgery as well and training with the robotic surgical equipment.
In this scan its cool cause I can see the sort of āsliceā where the styloid becomes calcified and then continues all the way down to the hyoid bone on both sides.
Iāve got my consult with Dr. Hackman on September 30th but Iām gonna call tomorrow and see if any earlier could happen because my main issue is that I want to get the surgery done this year before my premium resetsā¦
Hi Asumhannah,
Nice images. Iām glad they made whatās going on in your neck clear for you. It always helps to be able to visualize the āinvisibleā.
Asking Dr. Hackmanās ofc to put you on their cancellation list is a good idea. Snapple2020 has also suggested calling the office of interest every morning to ask about cancellations for that day as sometimes people will cancel last minute & there isnāt time to get someone on the waitlist to come in.
Dr. Hackman does both external & intraoral surgeries. It would be a good idea to discuss both approaches with him & hear his opinion of the pros & cons of each. More of our members have had him do the external approach, but we do have a couple of members whoāve had the intraoral robotic surgery which has been successful. I applaud Dr. Heckler for referring you to a doctor w/ more experience even when itās a surgery he does. That speaks well of his personal integrity.
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Good that youāve been referred to Dr Hackman, & Isaiah has given you good advice! I hope that you can get in sooner 
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Hey guys!!
This is my first post but Iāve messaged with @Isaiah_40_31 before.
Just wanted to say my first appointment with Dr Hackman is Sept 9th, he has already reviewed my CT scan and is willing to save me. Iām traveling from Fort Worth, TX!
I cannot wait!
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Yay Birdman!!
I am excited for my first appointment with him as well! 
I am excited for the relief I will feel after! Do you know if he wants to do external or orally?
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Oh itās going to be wonderful once this is all wrapped up for us!
Unfortunately I have no idea which route he wants to utilize. NC has some sort of restriction with tele-visits for out of state patients so meeting him face to face in Sept will be my first conversation with him directly.
If it makes sense for Dr Hackman and with the insurance company, I think I would prefer his intraoral robot procedure. 
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Thatās super good news, Birdman!! Iām so glad youāve made your decision & have an appointment. Please let us know what you learn after seeing Dr. Hackman & tell us your surgery date. He is an excellent surgeon. I expect youāll feel a lot better once your styloid is gone.
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how is your eye and mouth? I am 10 days post op very little improvements. tiny ones, but little. my eye is constantly bothering me but is now mostly going back into focus when I force blink, whereas I couldnāt do anything to get it into focus at first.
tp12,
Iām sorry your eye situation is being pokey to recover but I still trust that it will. One of our former moderators, Emma, had the same problem w/ her eye after a styloidectomy. I think it took close to a month for her eye to begin working normally again.
Hereās a post of one of our members who had the same eye issue not so long ago. I tried to find Emmaās post about her situation (2018 or 2019 or before, canāt remember), but it wasnāt in itās own thread so Iāll do some more digging & will send the link if I find it.
thank you for all your responses Isaiah! that person you linked noted some improvement about day seven which is when I started to be able to focus on constant manual blinking, but not any more progress for me yet.
Youāre welcome, tp12. I will continue to try to find Emmaās post so you can read about her eye āadventureā & how she managed it. I know itās here somewhere! In the meantime, Iāll be praying that you will begin to see better healing progress for your eye.
I finally found Emmaās posts!! They are in a very long thread. Emma wrote a good post in Juneā19, & the one about her eye/eyelid healing is in July '19. You can scroll down to those dates, & youāll find them. They are relatively long compared to the other posts around them.
Hereās the link to the thread: Thankful for you all - #350 by sjlash
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