SUPER FANTASTIC NEWS! I still have residual FBS, too, & agree that it’s nothing compared to what the ES symptoms were!!
I am sooo thrilled to hear this 
Your posts helped me when I was first diagnosed. Thank you - Seamom
Hey there everybody!
It‘s been almost six years since my last post.
My right side is still perfectly well and im 100% glad i went through surgery in 2016.
Now my left side is acting up more and more regularly so you might read a lil more from me again 
Best regards from Germany
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Hey Benyon! Sorry to hear from you again, but I’m glad you came back so we can support you!! It’s really good to know you’ve done so well after your first surgery, & I hope you have the same result if you end up with a second one. Is the doctor you saw for surgery #1 able to do your second surgery? Would you remind us of who did your first surgery, please.
We have another member from Germany who’s active on our forum - @TheDude. You two might want to connect via private message to compare notes.
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First surgery was done by Dr. Liebehenschel in Hamburg.
Im not sure if he‘s still active though. I will wait another few weeks until i get active towards surgery. My left side would flare up very irregularly for the last six years and it never stayed constant, with long episodes free of symptoms.
Now im having that old and very familiar pain for 11 days in a row…if it stays like this, i will contact a specialist to talk about another surgery.
Sorry for m english, i havent talked or written for a long time
Your English is nearly perfect. No apologies needed @Benyon! Thank you for your doctor’s name. I wanted to make sure he is on our Doctors List. He’s there so all is well. I hope he’s still available to help you since you had good results from the first surgery he did for you.
Hi Benyon,
I’m glad to read your success story for the first side. I also contacted Dr. L in 2020 after two previous surgeries that weren’t successful. Unfortunately Dr. L didn’t take my case and suggested seeing a specialist for upper cervical spine. But it is nice you got a so fantastic result with him. I think he should still be available. Meanwhile Dr. Heim at UK Bonn startet research on ES and is doing a lot of surgeries like no other in Germany. He is oral and maxillofacial surgeon too. Since he is the most experienced maybe in whole EU it would be a good idea to ask him for a second opinion at least.
IMO it is also a good idea to check the vessels (jugular veins, carotid arteries) in neck with ultrasond and/or CT-Angiography before having the consultations.
Do you know how far your SP was removed. Was it (almost) to skullbase?
Best regards to baltic coast
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Hey Dude 
Yes, i have been following Dr. Heims research ok his Instagram page and am very impressed about his work and effort. I have also been in contact with him allready and will ask for his opinion before making a decision. Allthough my last surgery was a full success in the end, it took about 4-5 months to heal and im quite sure they irritated or hurt a nerve and my parotid gland, as the pain i was going through was very intense. After all, that submerged though, so all thats left is a lil numbness around the scar and very soft fsb which doesnt bother me at all.
My styloid was removed up to skullbase, yes. I can see the result every time i go to my dentist when hes doing the panorama xray of my teeth. Right side is completely gone and left side is around 5 cm with a very obvious kink in the angle.
Im sure something happened to it recently, maybe a fracture, when i made a wrong move. I had a very strong cramplike feeling of blocking in my throat and since then i have the symptoms. My right side was also fractured when they took it out.
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Very pleased that your first surgery was successful, & I hope that you can get your second side done soon, & that the surgery works as well…nice to have you back, although not nice that it’s because your getting symptoms again!
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This is just my opinion, but since you had such a good result from your surgery w/ Dr. L, I think you should strongly consider having him do your second surgery. It’s always worthwhile to get a second opinion, so seeing Dr. H is also a good idea. Just make sure to get a clear understanding of how much styloid he removes & how he does the surgery so you can compare his surgical style w/ Dr. L’s.
Honestly, 4-5 months for recovery is fast! It took me almost a year after my first surgery for my nerves to recover most of the way. I also had First Bite Syndrome (parotid gland pain) after my first surgery. This comes from the glossopharyngeal nerve being disturbed during surgery. As it is often in the way, it does have to be moved so as not to be damaged but the end result is FBS which normally lasts for only a few months. A few of us have “enjoyed its company” 
for longer, but the pain does become less intense over time as you noticed. FBS is not an uncommon problem after surgeries in the area of the neck where the styloids are.
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Just made an appointment with Dr. Liebehenschel for pretalk on february 7th.
Im also in contact with Dr. Heim and am sending him my CT-Scan for second opinion. But Dr Liebehenschel is much closer to where i live and did my first surgery very successfully so i guess he will die the second one too.
Last 3 weeks were constantly painfull, hoping for a surgery date before this Summer.
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Good decisions, @Benyon. I hope your Feb. appt goes well & you can see Dr. Heim soon, too. I’m sorry your symptoms have come back and hope that removing that other styloid will take those symptoms away. 
Update:
Will be having my left styloid/ligament removed from Dr. Heim in Bonn on April 28th.
Had a long and very convincing conversation with him and he seems to be the most experienced surgeon in Germany. He did More than 150 styloidectomies so far.
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I’m glad you’re getting it done since you have symptoms, @Benyon. It should help you feel much better once you’ve healed from the surgery. Having both styloids/ligaments removed helped me a lot!
I’ll put your surgery date on my calendar & pray for you especially around that date. 
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That’s good, I’ll join @Isaiah_40_31 in praying for a successful surgery!
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Thank you Jules and Isaiah apreciate that a lot.
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