@ryanab - You’ve done a great job of researching to discover the potential cause of your symptoms. I agree w/ @TML that your right IJV looks very compressed. I also annotated one image & marked what I think is calcified thyroid cartilage that looks a little ominous in the way it’s jutting up toward your hyoid bone. From the angle of the image, I’m not sure how close it really is thus it may not be a problem at all & it’s only the angle in the image that makes it look concerning.
Also of note is that you’ve lost the lordotic curve in your cervical spine. When the cervical spine is straight, it’s referred to as military neck & the straightened position brings the styloids & greater horns of the hyoid closer to nerves & vascular tissues in the neck. The lordotic curve can be restored via gentle PT exercises. This post by @vdm has a lot of good information about the cervical spine & exercises to help with the cervical curve:
Here are images of proper cervical curve vs military neck:
There is suspicion that ES can contribute to slight scoliosis in the cervical spine for those who have it alongside ES as muscles compensate for the pressure that the styloids are putting on nerves in the area which, over time, can adjust the spine to one side or the other.
Regarding doctors who can help you, Dr. Ladner in Belgium has done surgery for a couple of our members & Dr. Martini has recently been mentioned as a good surgeon to see in Germany. I don’t know if either of them do IJV decompression when shaving C1 is required. It would be worth getting a consult & asking about that. The two doctors we know of in Europe who do the surgery you’ll need for the best outcome are Mr. Axon in England & Dr. Aghayev in Turkey.
•Dr. Thierry Ladner, Hospital CHIREC, https://www.doctoranytime.be/d/stomatologue/ladner-thierry?utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=profile
•Dr. Markus Martini at St. Lukas Klinik in Solingen/Germany,
Mund-, Kiefer- und Plastische Gesichtschirurgie, https://www.martini-klinik.de/en/contact - works together with Dr. Sarah Neering
•Mr Axon, Addenbrooks Hospital, Cambridge (Otolaryngologist/ Skull base surgeon, very experienced with ES surgery, special interest in Pulsatile Tinnitus. Also does private work at Spire Lea hospital, Cambridge, for Spire Health care. Mr Patrick Axon - ENT Surgeon (Ear, Nose & Throat) | Ear, Nose & Throat Surgery | Spire Cambridge Lea Hospita
•Dr. Kamran Aghayev - https://kamranaghayev.com
Our member @Felix had successful ES surgery in The Netherlands but didn’t post his doctor’s name, however, he did give us this information. You can send him a DM to ask who did his surgery:
I will ask the doctor if he minds that I add his name (and the one of his disciple to the list). In any case I would say that there are at least 4 hospitals in The Netherladns where there are experienced doctors with ES:
1- LUMC in Leiden
2- RadboudUMC in Nijmegen: This one is already in the list
3- ErasmusUMC in Rotterdam
4- AmsterdamUMC in Amsterdam. This hospital/University has also been doing a lot of research on ES. Here one of their latest papers if you are interested. Eagle syndrome: tissue characteristics and structure of the styloid process | JBMR Plus | Oxford Academic