Hi, going to have surgery soon for my left styloid w dr osborne, which is medial angled and stabbing my larynx. However, as a former collegiate athlete-now family medicine dr-my right side was the worst in my 20s and still extremely tight right cervical muscles and scm and elongated on that side too but not w medial angle. Is there an average time that people had to go back and get opposite side removed, like 1-2 years, etc? Im worried that once left is removed right will immediately act up bc there wont be same anchor and muscles are so tight already if that makes sense. I need to ask dr osborne too of course bc my mental space has been consumed w the issues the left has been causing so now im wondering if better to just do both back to back. Any advice appreciated.
Hi @Silverstrand! Welcome to our forum! I’m glad you’re having your surgery w/ Dr. Osborne soon.
Typically w/ bilateral ES, the symptoms from the remaining styloid do flare up during surgical recovery once the first styloid is removed.
Dr. Osborne offers a form of bilateral surgery in that he will do the second side 2 days after the first one if a patient wants that. Most other doctors require a 3-6 month healing period after the first surgery prior to doing a second one.
If symptoms from your remaining styloid don’t flare up during your post op recovery, then waiting until they become a problem to have your second surgery is a good option. Unfortunately we can’t predict how long it will be before symptoms from your remaining styloid show up as each person is different in that regard.
I agree with @Isaiah_40_31 , quite a few members have had surgery with Dr Osborne days apart & seem to do well, but most doctors leave it longer. And unfortunately it is common to have the opposite side flare up after the first surgery, but it’s not always really bad- mine did to a point, but it was never as bad as the first side. And sometimes people find that the first side symptoms don’t completely resolve until both are done, so it is a dilemma, but equally you don’t want to have a second surgery if you don’t get problems with the second side, and it might be that after your first surgery with PT you could get those muscles more relaxed… I’m sorry, I wish we could give you a more definite answer!
When’s your surgery date? Happy to pray for good results if you’d like to let us know!
Thank you both for the info. Surgery date is Dec 10th. Prayers appreciated!
Will do, best wishes for a successful outcome 
I’ve put your surgery date on my calendar, @Silverstrand. I’ll be praying for you, too.