I was just diagnosed with Eagle’s Syndrome. My ENT says he wants to do a tonsillectomy with the styloidectomy? Is that the only option? I really don’t think I need my tonsils out.
Thanks!
He’s probably doing the operation intra-orally, in which case they have to remove the tonsils to get to the styloid as it lies behind them. The only way to avoid that is to have external surgery where the surgeon cuts either the neck or goes up near the ear. Different surgeons have different methods- there’s pros and cons with each; there’s info on the 2 methods in the Newbies Guide section, under ES Info- surgery.
Thanks! I just wasn’t sure if the intra-oral way had to have the tonsils removed.
i had that surgery just over a year ago. The recovery was brutal for 2-3 weeks, but I feel so much better now. I was pretty miserable before the surgery. I had both tonsils out and right styloidectomy. I had some trouble swallowing on right side for a couple months and it still doesn’t feel normal ( kind of numb), but it doesn’t hurt.
Just curious, but is your ENT a specialist in Eagles? There’s not a surgeon near me who will even attempt it.
No! He said his partner had done styloidectomies (I don’t know how many) but he would refer me to him. I’d be curious to see what this guy says but I think I’d seek out someone more specialized…