I was just wondering if the styloid ligament is what is removed during surgery or do they remove the styloid process totally?
The other question I have is if the styloid is removed what happens to the tongue, throat, jaw, etc if it is removed if that’s what helps to move these?
Also, is it possible to remove any compression but keep the styloids or just remove the styloidhyoid ligament?
Thx
It depends whether the styloid is elongated, or whether the stylo-hyoid ligament is calcified. If the styloids are elongated or thick/ angled etc & causing symptoms, then they’re either shortened or cut right back to skull base, so the attachments on them are stripped off to be able to do that. Some doctors remove the stylo-hyoid ligament as well, but not always. Mine wasn’t calcified so just the styloid was removed. But if there’s calcified ligament then this should be taken out also or you could still get symptoms. Again, if there’s any compression, it would depend on what’s causing the compression, the styloid or the ligament or both.
We get asked alot about whether removing them has any effects; it rarely does, I can’t feel any difference in swallowing, jaw movements etc.
Interesting. What is it that is stripped off of them? Do you mean that something is stripped off of the styloid process?
The styloid process is an anchor point for 3 small muscles (styloglossus, stylohyoid & stylopharyngeus) & 2 ligaments (stylohyoid & stylomandibular).
The stylohyoid ligaments help in a very minor way with swallowing. As @Jules noted, in most cases, there is no negative impact to having the styloids & calcified ligaments removed.
Thank you, Isaiah! You both are so very helpful! This site is a BLESSING from GOD. Now we just need our physicians to listen to us - better yet, wouldn’t it be great if they read some of these posts on this site? I think they all could learn quite a bit!
Blessings on your Sunday!
Any doctor is welcome to read the posts here, they just can’t join the forum unless they themselves have ES. 
I’m planning to put down that I found out about them through this site, Living with Eagle’.
My appointment is Thursday at 3:30. Would appreciate your prayers for the Consult to be productive and fir God to give answers to Dr. Constantino pertaining to my situation.
Thanks 
I put it on my calendar so I will remember to pray then. 
Thank you very much, Isaiah! I am so in need of answers! Nearly 4 years later and nothing has been done to help me. I’m trying not to get discouraged because I know that everything is in God’s timing.
Today was another bad day although could have been worse. Blood pressure went up to 183. Started feeling yucky in my head and it was probably well over 200 when it started but I was out and so by the time I got home to take the blood pressure it had gone down to 183. 6 minutes later it went down to 150 something. It’s just a constant merry-go-round. Never know when you can go out if you can drive a car if you can see friends. It’s terrible. Something that’s been happening to me now is that I have found just by talking it can bring this situation on. Before I was having trouble here and there with my mouth but it was more of a tired muscle mouth issue if you know what I mean.
Anyway, when I feel like this it’s hard for me to do anything. I’ve been trying to get my thoughts together and my questions together and all that kind of thing for the appointment Thursday and having these interruptions of craziness going on it’s hard to do because I can’t think straight even enough to pray, read the Bible or anything it just puts my life at a standstill and it’s just terrible. I guess I really don’t have to tell you any of this because you hear enough of it through this site that you know exactly what I mean.
Well thank you again for praying for my upcoming appointment with Dr. Constantino.
I hope you have a nice night. 
Will pray for you too
You’re very kind. Thank you so very much Jules!
Had a really terrible day yesterday couldn’t get the blood pressure to come down for anything no matter what medication I took and therefore didn’t sleep well and just been on this roller coaster. So thank you very much for your prayers!
May God bless you for all your hard work on the site, along with Isaiah.
@Jules @Isaiah_40_31 can you always see calcification on CT? Just curious! Mine doesn’t show any, but I’ve heard a few times Cognetti typically doesn’t remove calcified ligaments (he’s one of my consults coming up!)
If you have stylohyoid ligament calcification that’s separate from your styloid, it will show up on a CT scan. Please ask Dr. Cognetti if he removes s-h ligament calcification as I would expect he would if it’s significant. I have some s-h ligament calcification down by my hyoid bone that is pretty minimal, & I expect it was left behind when I had my surgeries. I’ve had no problems from it.
One of our members said that Dr Cognetti doesn’t remove calcified ligaments, but was the only person who mentioned this, it’s worth clarifying with him though if you suspect that you do have calcified ligaments. As @Isaiah_40_31 says though, it would show on a CT.
How did your first consult go with Dr Costantino? I have my first appointment with him next week and was wondering what to expect.
I’m so sorry. I have been off of the site for a while, ever since I did my consult with Dr Constantino, because in my situation I had extreme blood pressure spikes and when he read my medical records and saw that, he immediately said there’s no way he could even think to do any surgery on me with that going on because it would be too risky so he said Eagles syndrome had to be put on the back burner. I was thinking that’s why maybe I’m having the symptoms, but since he’s the specialist and he said what he said, I have to believe that he doesn’t think blood pressure symptoms are necessarily related to Eagle Syndrome otherwise I would think he would try to help me nonetheless.
So, in my situation, I am probably going to be having a virtual consult with a specialist from UPMC in Pittsburgh, as I was hospitalized for 3 days last month and the doctor who admitted me witnessed an attack I was having before he could even step in the office to meet me as his patient, and immediately sent me to the hospital when my blood pressure was 210 / 110 in his office. With another MRI after having had several of them done in the past, the conclusion was the same thing that was on a report in 2021, so it wasn’t a surprise. Nobody did anything at the time but this doctor did extra research on his own and said that there’s only one place in the United States that I could go to for that type of surgery that would be needed, if indeed the diagnosis is that, which was called - Left Ventral Artery Compression of the Medulla. So, I am in the process of getting my medical records together to at least have the consult and go from there. If they concur with this diagnosis, not sure if I would want to have the microvascular decompression surgery, I think it’s what it’s called, done, because of 16 (I think it was) patients who’ve had this in the US, 15 who had multiple symptoms gained temporary or no relief and only the one who only had only one symptom, was the surgery successful. As you can imagine, this is quite discouraging.
I’m a Christian, so I’m going to trust the Lord just like I have for almost 4 years now. When I get discouraged, I need to be mindful of the fact that there was a woman in the Bible who had an issue of blood for 40 years before she was cured. I have to also remember that God’s timing is not my timing and God’s ways and thoughts are not my ways and thoughts. I have to just be still and trust him, so that is what I will be doing. If you’re a Christian I would appreciate your prayers. I will pray for you for guidance and for your doctor’s to have wisdom that you may be healed in the name of Jesus!
Hugs!!!
Praying that you’re guided in to making the right decisions @GodisAWESOME , not sure if knowing what could be causing the spikes is a good or bad thing if the treatment isn’t very successful! But at least you’ve been listened to & believed now!
It’s a way, let me know how your Consult goes and what he says if you don’t mind. I pray he can help you.
Sorry, that was supposed to say by the way, if you don’t mind letting me know what Dr Constantino says I would be interesting to know his thinking.
God bless you.
Yes, thank you Jules! Hanging in there in Central Florida!
Julie