Hello, I’m new here and trying to get a diagnosis. I contacted Dr. Samji’s office and this is the test they’ve requested. The only problem is that I cannot find a hospital or imaging facility in my area that does this test! The top hospital in my state said that what I want used to be called a STYLOGRAM and that they haven’t done one in YEARS. I’m very concerned that I have nowhere to go to get properly diagnosed as I can’t even get an appointment with an Eagle specialist without this CT scan.
I live in Rhode Island.
I am willing to travel to get this CT scan, prefer New England area.
As far as I’m aware, it’s just a regular CT! Just make sure that they show the head, jaw & neck area, down to the hyoid bone. That way if there’s any calcification of the ligaments it will show too. Could the radiologist in your local hospital not ring Dr Samji’s office to check what’s needed?
Hopefully other’s who’ve been to Dr Samji can chip in with some help for you!
Dr. Samji did my surgeries in 2014 & 2015. A different ENT ordered my CT scan & diagnosed my ES. The CT scan was as Jules said, simply a scan of my neck which covered the area between my skull base & hyoid bone. Dr. Samji was fine w/ my CT scan when I finally went to see him. When I was getting my CT I made sure the radiology tech knew specifically what we were looking for. He was a bit cocky w/ my trying to be thorough but did a great job w/ the scan.
As important as anything is the radiologist’s written report. You need to make it clear that the styloids be measured & measurement noted in the report. The radiologist also needs to look for calcification of the stylohyoid ligaments & comment on that.
My original CT was with and without contrast. They usually take a non-contrast scan before they inject the contrast. That radiologist initially made no note of the length, so I had to go back and ask the imaging center to specifically measure the styloids and write an addendum to the report for Dr. Samji. He accepted that in order to get started with an appointment. Good luck!
Jules,
Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. Okay so I’ll tell the imaging center that I need a CT scan of the head, jaw, down to the hyoid bone. Nobody ever asks them for a Styloid Protocol. LOL.
Thanks for answering my question. I will tell the imaging center that I need a CT scan of my neck which covers the area between my skull base & hyoid bone. It seems that the scheduler was thrown off by the “Styloid Protocol” term.
Hi redbird773,
yes, I was surprised that they said that I don’t need contrast. I will ask the imaging tech to measure the styloids. Hopefully, they will know what I’m talking about. It seems that nobody in Rhode Island ever asks for a CT scan of the styloids.
Hi, I live in Neptune New Jersey and had my regular ENT order CT. He never saw anything like that and many of the ENT’S I went to didn’t know either. Final!y, I was referred to a university hospital, Rutgers Neurology Hospital in Newark, N.J., my CT showed the length and classification of the styloids, hopefully on April 1, I will find out what has to be done. Is there such a University Hospital that specialize in the Head and Neck Surgeries in your area? Hope this is helpful.
