Tomorrow is the day i meet with Dr newman in philadelphia. I’m excited and nervous. Anything i can do to prepare for my first appt? What should i expect. I know every doc ia different but what was discussed with your first appt with your surgeon? I’m hoping he schedules surgery. I just want this done and over with!
My surgeon introduced himself & we chatted about ES & his surgical approach & also about how many ES surgeries he’d done. Then he did an exam & gently checked my left styloid which could be felt under my chin. He then checked my throat to see if one or both styloids were palpable there (which they were). We talked about my symptoms some of which he dismissed as not being related to ES (he was wrong…they went away after surgery). He told me he would operate on the right side first even though the left side was causing a world of hurt. His decision was a wise one as my right styloid was growing at a steep downward angle & was causing some vascular symptoms but not so much pain.
I was vascillating between two surgeons at that point so I had to meet w/ the other surgeon again before making my decision. Once I chose who I would see, I was able to get a surgical date w/in a couple of weeks.
So glad you have an appointment. A step in the right direction.
Hope your appt goes well! Have you had a CT scan to get diagnosed already? If not, he may want to get that done. There’s some suggestions in the Newbies Guide about what to ask- obviously he’s experienced which is good, but you might want to check about intra-oral or external surgery, how much would be removed etc. and what to expect post-op. Doctors often won’t guarantee that your symptoms will go with surgery, so be prepared for that, I think it’s to protect themselves.
Let us know how you get on and if you get a surgery date!
Yes i had a ct scan after making radiologist review it again a 6.9 cm right styloid was found and a 4.6 left.
He has all my scans and reports already. He wouldn’t see me until he had them
6.9cm is impressive! (Not that we keep score on here!)
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