Hi all, I’ve been a lurker for a while and just freshly joined recently. So glad Google found this for me!!!
I’m signed up for my op at the end of the month. My surgeon (in New Zealand) is Dr Naveed Basheeth and he’s approaching it transoral robotics… seems he gets people from all around the country referred to him (he also treats surgery and anything ENT) … I’ve read heaps of pros and cons on this approach.
I guess what I’m wondering is - because I’ve never had surgery to my mouth… I want to plan ahead with my “diet”. He said I can pretty much “eat whatever you want after surgery” but I’m assuming I won’t be able to haha. So suggestions?
Is it dumb to collect meal replacement stuff and ice cream/ice blocks in the next 2 weeks so I can just have those for the first few days or week or something? I mean… are people able to handle poached eggs and whatever the first week? I’ve been told by friends with kids who’ve had tonsillectomies they were being fed soft toast etc first day or two to help keep some form of abrasion I guess. but I’m 41 haha I’ve heard it is not that easy for adults.
My styloids are 47 and 45mm long. He said he’ll take them off at the base of the skull. He was quite reassuringly casual in his description of the procedure.
Suggestions on diet?
Also only other surgeries have been caesarians but they’re very different to this hah. I am going private so assume I don’t need a person with me - how much “assistance” do I need the first week? Or am I right to assume I can just set my alarm to take my meds so they keep overlapping with pain management and antibiotics?
I think intra-oral will be a bit more painful to recover from, similar to a tonsillectomy so good you’re prepared! With external, soft foods are often needed because the jaw can be stiff afterwards & chewing uncomfortable, with intra-oral it’s the incisions which get sore. I had external, but had smoothie ingredients ready, (banana, yoghurt, fruit juice, blended with protein powder & spinach for goodness!) lots of those in the first week, yoghurt, scrambled eggs, custard, ice cream, mashed up cauliflower cheese…They do seem to advise rougher foods though for tonsillectomies which sounds barbaric to me
An alarm should be fine to help you keep on top of meds, you’ll be tired but hopefully not bedridden, so help around the house will be nice, but you should be okay to potter about…
Hope all goes well for your surgery, will be interesting to hear how it goes as not many members have had the robotic surgery, they said good things though!
@Jules has given you good advice. I will add that all fruit popsicles are very soothing for the throat & more interesting than just sucking on ice. Also, since you’re having bilateral surgery your throat is likely to be very sore for a few weeks so you may be looking at a soft diet for longer than you anticipate.
One other things that comes to mind is that for some people, eating ice cream & drinking milk cause more mucus in the throat. You may want to try those sparingly initially until you know they’re “safe” as you definitely won’t want to be clearing your throat for awhile.
This is EXCELLENT NEWS!! If your surgery goes well, we will happily add Dr. Basheeth to our Doctors List. We certainly need more doctor resources for NZ!
The idea of having to clear my throat in a painful condition sent shivers down my spine just now haha. Thank you for the suggestions. I will add fruit popsicles to my list for sure!
Me too @Krisnz. I hope it all went well! @Chonny I’m Auckland based too and had surgery 4 months ago. Keen to hear who is helping you and what path you are currently on.
Kia ora @BraveKat!!
Yes I’ve actually been a lingerer for a while and had come across your posts some time ago. I finally got around to making a profile
I was initially referred to an ENT surgeon who I waited months to see and finally saw a couple of weeks ago. I found him skeptical and dismissive, he seemed keen to stamp me with an alternate diagnosis and I then found out he hadn’t even bothered to download my imaging. So I won’t be pursuing treatment with him.
I then emailed Dr Kevin Smith’s office that weekend and they called me on the Monday and were about to see me that day! Couldn’t believe it. He has offered me surgery but he has also told me he wants me to take a month to consider the risks, talk to family and seek further opinions should I wish.
At first I thought that I just wanted to go ahead with the surgery as soon as possible but now I’m wondering if I should take his advice and seek another opinion to be safe. One reason is he didn’t mention anything about compression so I am concerned that may not be fully considered. And though I gauge he’s a great surgeon and obviously extremely familiar with the anatomy, he also said that he’s performed less than ten over his career. I just feel like maybe trying to get a consult with someone who specialises in ES would be wise. I know that there aren’t many and that would probably mean looking internationally so I imagine it would be pretty complicated in terms of seeing whether my insurance would cover it under my overseas treatment allowance. I have a follow up booked with Dr Kevin Smith in a few weeks so I also don’t know I’d be pushing it to be able to see someone else within that timeframe.
Anyway, that’s where I’m currently at. How are you feeling post-surgery?
Oh that’s great news that you were able to get hold of Dr Smith and have a prompt consult. I tried to get in to see him November last year but he had a one month wait. What kind of symptoms do you have?
I had most of the symptoms that I’ve read can be experienced, except for the balance type ones. Both my Carotid and IJV were being compressed and I’ve found most of those symptoms have now gone. I’ve also lost the strangulation feeling and general ache around the temple/jaw area. From my experience, the nerve related symptoms are the hardest to resolve. I think it has a lot to do with the muscle weakness and postural changes that have occurred as a result of having had ES for so long. I think if I had a strong spine and well functioning muscles, the tissue around the surgery site would be able to heal like it should, but with the weakness and perhaps abnormal alignment of the spine, the base of skull area and neck get aggravated every time I use my upper body. I think I have a lot of internal inflammation - it was starting to settle (my heart rate was slowing) but flared it up with swimming one day over the summer. I’m back to work now too and that means I’m not able to rest it in the same way I could before. I’m hoping a bit more time will help.
Have you considered Dr Michael Elliott in Sydney. I have considered talking to him if symptoms don’t resolve well on my operated side.
Dr Davis did recognise my IJV compression and noted the carotid involvement post surgery so if you wanted someone more local, he could be a good fit. He is a very open minded surgeon who has worked on some very complex facial reconstruction surgeries as well as tumour removal surgeries in and around the area of the styloid. So despite only having completed two styloidectomies before me, I felt very confident that he knows his way around the anatomy.
