Good morning! Had surgery yesterday (2/9/24) with Dr Hepworth. He did a L styloidectomy and a R Omohyoid myectomy. I don’t have access to the op report yet, so I don’t know if/ how much vagus nerve involvement there was.
Is it normal to have almost no pain? Should I feel this good until days 3-5 get here?
My tinnitus didn’t magically disappear when I woke up in recovery , dang it! Any input on if/when tinnitus may resolve/lessen?
I was able to keep a piece of my styloid! The piece I have is 1/3, the rest of it was so broken/shaved up he wasn’t able to keep it for me. Based on the piece I have, overall length was 4.7625 cm. With that puppy out, I should start feeling much better!
Thanks to this group, which has been a very valuable resource as I learned about VES and what to expect post op.
Glad you’ve had surgery & that you’re not in pain! It could be that the anesthetic drugs are still in your system and are helping with that for now, so you might feel it in a day or two. It does vary though, I was okay with otc paracetamol after my surgeries…
Tinnitus varies- if it’s pulsatile tinnitus with VES that can improve when the swelling goes down, I think quite a few members with other tinnitus find surgery doesn’t resolve it completely unfortunately.
Unusual but nice to have your souvenir! Definitely better out than in!
I hope your recovery goes smoothly
Congratulations on having the surgery behind you @Nikkimm! It’s wonderful that you aren’t in pain. We have had a few members who never had much pain post op or it was low grade enough they only used OTC pain meds. It would be great if that was the norm!! You may get more uncomfy in that 3-5 day post op timeframe but not everyone does. Perhaps you’ll be one of the lucky ones!
I hope your tinnitus calms down as your body heals. I’m sure you’ve read it can take several months to begin noticing significant improvements but some come sooner than others.
Good to hear from your positive experience and that pain is bearable respectively not there. It is my turn on monday and your story gives me hope for the second surgery with Dr. H. Hopefully I can say the same as you on Tuesday.
About the tinnitus I’m also thinking there is a good chance that it might subside once the neurons have calmed down.
Wishing you all the best for a quick and smooth recovery furtheron. Warmest regards
For me, yes. I knew who my vascular would be a few weeks before surgery. As of February, there are three docs from Vascular Institute of the Rockies who rotate through with Dr Hepworth’s surgeries, Dr. Annest, Dr Melendez and Dr Leung. (Dr Annest has retired from “major” vascular procedures but still does these)
@TheDude Yep, I am scheduled for later in April with Hepworth and there is no vascular surgeon scheduled.
Hepworth said he is not so sure ballooning is the way to go anyways (it stresses the vein, you have to be on blood thinners after,…). I guess removing impediments (like the styloid or scar tissue) will be enough?
Did Hepworth find blocked veins during your latest surgery? If so, what did he do for them?
Did Hep go up the groin with a scope (catheter, whatever it’s called) to check on veins like the vascular surgeons do?
I am a little concerned as ballooning on the left side was done (deemed necessary).
The surgery is also listed (per the hospital as): EAGLES SYNDROME, BENIGN NEOPLASM
Neoplasm is a tumor. Say what
He did mention getting a sample from a lymph node to check for infection (reflected in a different CPT code) but this is the first time I’ve heard tumor mentioned.
In the previous operation there was significant scar tissue that was contributing to the left vein being blocked between the hyoid and thyroid. He said the scar tissue was probably from a bad cold when I was little but I guess the lymph sample (and removing any tumor) is to make sure there isn’t anything currently going on. ??
@juliezuber - Just to reassure you, a neoplasm isn’t always a tumor. It can also define an abnormal growth in an area where it doesn’t belong. As noted for you, these are often benign & of no consequence, but as they serve no useful purpose, they are often removed so they don’t get large enough to cause problems.
