Hi & welcome to the site!
There is alot of info to trawl through, I agree, but you can get questions answered…here’s links to a couple of info pages which might help your search:
ES Information: Common Symptoms And Possible Explanations For Them - Welcome / Newbies Guide to Eagle Syndrome - Living with Eagle
ES Information- Treatment: Surgery - Welcome / Newbies Guide to Eagle Syndrome - Living with Eagle
Tinnitus is a common symptom & there have been quite a few discussions about it- this often lessens after surgery but doesn’t always go completely…
Not everyone has the sensation of something stuck in their throat, I never had that one. But did have facial and tooth/ jaw pain. The Facial & Trigeminal nerves are commonly affected which can cause pain in the teeth & cheeks, numbness or tingling. There are some nerve pain medications like Gabapentin, Lyrica, Amitriptyline which can help, it might be worth trying one of these while you wait for surgery?
Transoral surgery isn’t the best method for ES, as the surgeons can’t always remove as much of the elongated styloid process as needed to ease symptoms. It’s also a harder surgery to recover from and has a greater risk of infection.
We have a list of doctors familiar with ES, is your doctor on our list? here’s a link:
Doctor Lists – no discussion - Symptoms and Treatments / Doctor Information - Living with Eagle
We do also have suggestions of questions to ask your surgeon, it’s worth checking, especially how much the doctor will remove, as you don’t want to have a surgery and it not help!
- How many ES surgeries have they done and what was the success rate?
- Whether they’re going to operate externally, or intraoral- through the mouth. Whilst some members have had successful surgeries with intraoral, external is better for seeing all the structures, to be able to remove more of the styloids, & also there’s less chance of infection.
- You need to ask how much of the styloid he’ll remove- as much as possible is best- & anything left needs to be smoothed off. The piece needs to be removed too- some doctors have snapped it off & left it in! If the styloid is only shortened a bit it can still cause symptoms.
- If your stylohyoid ligaments are calcified, then any calcified section needs to be removed too.
- There’s usually swelling after surgery; you could ask if a drain’s put in to reduce swelling, or if steroids are prescribed. It’s not essential, but can help with recovery a bit.
- Will it be a day case surgery or will you need to stay in?
- Obviously ask the risks- we know from experience on here that temporary damage to the facial nerve is quite common, and also the hypoglossal nerve and the accessory nerve. These usually recovery very quickly but in some cases members have needed physiotherapy. There is also the risk of catching a blood vessel or having a stroke, but these are very rare.
- Ask if the surgeon monitors the nerves- this should be done to see if there’s stress on the nerves to avoid damage as mentioned above.
- What painkillers will be prescribed afterwards.
- Ask about recovery- most doctors either down play it or are genuinely unaware of how long the recovery can take.
As for recovery, with intra-oral, you’re unlikely to be able to eat solid food for a couple of weeks, recovery does vary, but you’ll be quite tired for a while too…
It’s worth having a look at the doctors list and maybe getting a second opinion depending on how experienced your doctor is. Hope this helps!