I had my right side styloid removed today by Dr. Samji. The surgery went really well. He said it was a complicated case so it took a bit longer than normal (about 2 hours). Other than feeling a bit tired, I feel pretty great. So far the pain meds are working great and I have been able to eat anything I want. I would imagine the recovery process will be tougher over the next few days, but I am very optimistic and pleased with how it has gone so far. I will provide a daily update through the first week for people who are thinking of scheduling surgery with Dr. Samji. I cannot say enough good things about him.
So pleased you’re safely through surgery & you’re feeling good! Brilliant that you can eat okay too! I think that days 3-5 or 6 seem to be the worst for swelling & not feeling so good, but sounds like you’re prepared for the downs as well as the ups. Take care of yourself:
Thanks for sharing your recovery journey. I do public speaking and teach a number of classes for a living, so the recovery part is of great significance to me so that I can get an idea of how long I’ll be unable to perform my job. Looking forward to your continued updates and hope the whole process is uneventful and quick for you!
I woke up this morning with a slight allergic reaction to the pain meds, so I had to stop taking them. Luckily I haven’t been in pain, so hopefully I won’t need them going forward. The main things that are bothering me are my ear/TMJ (sounds are kind of muffled and there is some clicking and grinding) and throat from the intubation tube. Neither of those things are painful, just more of an annoyance. I can still eat pretty much anything. I am still preparing for the worst over the next couple of days, but still feel pretty good about the process/progress. @jjchawaii I have found it a little difficult to speak because of the intubation tube, but I will let you know how long that lasts as it seems very important to your job.
After my second surgery I couldn’t hear at all out of that ear, it was a weird sensation like concrete had been poured into it too, but it went away after 2 weeks, so must’ve just been an irritated nerve.
I hope that you don’t find things too painful now you’ve had to stop pain meds…Take care & God bless
Great to hear that your surgery went slick and you are doing fine.
After my surgery with Dr Samji I was able to stop the opiates two days after surgery too and I was fine with Tylenol , marijuana, prednisone and ice of course.
Hope things keep on improving for you. Wishing you a nice and quick recovery. Sounds very good so far.
Best thoughts from Germany.
Thanks for the information Jules! Although it is not a fun thing to go through, I am glad it is not necessarily something to worry about long term. Did you have any issues with TMJ after surgery?
Thanks TheDude! It sounds like we are having very similar recovery processes. Ice and prednisone seem to be all I need to manage the pain and swelling. I was also able to get my In-N-Out burger the day after surgery . I hope you are continuing to do well too!
OMG. In and out…yumm. I was able to go down to one pain pills a day on day 3 after surgery as well. Glad you are recovering well. I did have a TMJ flair with some minor first bite on surgery one. It took me a while to get the tmj to calm down. I will say that side, prior to surgery was very angry and problematic. I delayed my 2nd surgery because of the TMJ flair but not by much. Surgery 2, I did not have a TMJ flair or any first bite. Hope you had a good trip home
Thank you for sharing your experience. Did you see other surgeons before settling with Dr Samji? I live in Los Angeles and have appointments here. Not sure if I should travel to see him as well.
Dr. Samji will do a video consult so you don’t need to travel initially. It’s about $600 for 45 min., and often, insurance will help pay the cost. You can check on that. I had a first & second opinion (Dr. Samji was my second opinion), but some of our members have had more than that before choosing their surgeons.
Hello - I find it interesting that Dr Samji charges the patient even though is in my insurance network. Seeing Dr Bruce L. Gewertz in Nov and Dr Chhetri on Jan 3. I have an appt with Dr Henry Chen (ENT) as well, but not sure if I should bother, since no one on this site has listed him as an experienced surgeon. Thoughts?
The risks seem significant, no matter who. UGH
Dr. Samji treats the video consult as a regular office appt which is why he charges. The office appt would only be 20-30 min though.
I typed Dr. Gewertz’s name into the search box & this is all that came up:
Adam, there is one doctor at Cedars Sinai that’s supposed to have some Eagles experience - Dr Bruce Gewertz. Also Dr. Henry Chen has done a couple Eagles surgeries. He’s not that experienced in Eagles, but he’s willing to help in some cases. The most experienced Eagles doctor in California is Dr. Samji in San Jose. It might be worth it to send your scan to him.
The post was written by one of our former mods, heidemt in Dec. 2015. It doesn’t seem like we have much information about either Dr. Gewertz or Dr. Chen. Please do not be upset if any of the doctors you see are dismissive. Sadly, this is the way of things when seeking the right surgeon to do ES surgery. There are many doctors who have strict opinions as to which symptoms define ES, & if a patient has very elongated styloids but lacks the symptoms in a given doctor’s “inventory”, they will often turn them away. Being forewarned is being fore-armed.
. I hope you are continuing to do well too!