Hello eagle friends. Finally i have a written report that says Eagle Syndrome and recommendation for surgery. My surgery is scheduled in Germany in the 17th of May. In the same time a sent my medical reports in Turkey who also implied Eagles and willing to do the surgery.
My Symptompts are on the right side: stabbing pain when swallowing food on the right side, stiff neck on the right side, a little numbness on my right cheek, high pitch sound in my head (not ears) may be from hypermobility of the TMJ (it only for 2 month), anxiety, lightheaded. I feel like another person. I am 35 yo, and a belive that this condition changes you a lot, in my case is not a lot of pain, only when eating, but i belive that things will get worse in the future so i decided to do the surgery now on my own decision while a am healthy.
My right styloid is 3,5 cm long with 3-4 mm mineralisation and 4 mm thickness, my left is 2,8 cm with 3 mm thickness (here there no symptomps)
I’ve moved your post into the general category for others to see it better, hope you don’t mind!
Glad that you’ve got the diagnosis confirmed & also a date for surgery! There’s lots of info in the Newbies Guide section all about surgery & what to expect, so if you haven’t already read it, then have a look. Lots of advice about what to get ready (Seamom wrote a surgery shopping list), pillows soft foods etc.
Who is your surgeon, & do you know whether you’re having external or intra-oral surgery, & the worst side done first?
Best wishes!
I will have external both sides at the same time, at Uniklinik Bonn, Germany. My surgeon is Prof. Dr Rudolf Reich. He said he did about 70 surgeries. He said is not a very hard surgery, but indeed i read that recovery is not that easy.
Any additional infos are welcome.
How great to hear you found a surgeon who has done quite a number of ES surgeries! That should help you feel more confident in his ability to do a good job.
Full surgical recovery takes 6-8 weeks but you will be pretty functional the first week after surgery. Nerves that get irritated can take several months to a year to heal completely so don’t fret if you have a bit of residual numbness or pain as it will likely heal over time. Things that will help the most immediately post op are sleeping w/ your head very elevated - 30º at least for a couple of weeks or more & icing your neck for 15 min. at a time 3-4 times per day for the first week after surgery. Make sure you put something like a light washcloth between the ice pack & your skin. Also, pain meds tend to be constipating. Make sure your surgeon prescribes or recommends some sort of laxative & stool softener to keep your intestines functioning well. Follow the recommended pain med dose & frequency for at least the first week. And finally LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Doing too much too soon will make you heal slower.
So exciting to know you have surgery coming before too long. I think you’ve made a wise decision to do this while you’re in good health.
Please keep us informed as to how everything goes for you.
Having both surgeries dne at the same time is tougher for recovery, but as long as you’re prepared for that it’s great news for you! Hope all goes well!
One month till surgery. Flight booked, Appartment rented, car rented, all set. 3 weeks in Bonn Germany! I am planning to rest after surgery as much as i can.
I also played a little with OsiriX witch is a good software and i think i found that the ligaments are calcified too. I don’t know how to look at xrays or other investigations, and i don’t know how to tell if ligaments are calcified… but in this picture sure looks that way, so maybe that is the reason that doctor decided to do the surgery on both sides although there are no symptoms on my left side, and the styloid is 2,89 cm, compared with my right with symptoms 3,5 cm
Glad that you’ve got a date for surgery! Lots of info about what to expect on here to help.
The first pic looks as if there could be some calfication, although it doesn’t show on any of the others from what I can see- but we’re not doctors, so it’s best to check with yours.
No it does not show on regular CT Scans that i saw or XRays, or maybe i don’t know where to look. But it shows on 3d reconstruction when balancing the contrast.
My main question is during the surgery the doctor can see it? I think this is a tissue that can be calcified but with the naked eye to look normal, or look normal and calcified inside and not visible. If it was a normal tissue it could not be seen on a CT. I will have to ask that the doctor cause there are cases when the ligament is left inside and cause trouble in the future.
Yes, it’s a good idea to double check that with the doctor before surgery. I don’t know if calcification would be seen, but I guess they would feel that the ligament is more rigid than it should be, & doesn’t move as it should.