I was told today that my transverse sigmoid sinus is narrowing on the left side and that my Eagle syndrome doesn’t look that bad. I have surgery with Dr. Hackman July 1at to have both styloids removed but I don’t think I’m going to make it that long. I schedule here with Dr. Hernandez to have my right side done since he will only do one side at a time. My mom bought her a round trip ticket to come and my one way ticket to fly back with her to recover. Now I’m told today I need a stent for the transverse sigmoid sinus which is scheduled Feb.10th. If he places the stent I won’t be able to have the right styloidectomy on the 24th. I’m so torn on which to do and no doctor can seem to tell me what is causing what. I now have bilateral encephalocele’s and I don’t know how much longer I can take this pain and head pressure. Has anyone dealt with this? What was done first and what brought relief?
I’m so sorry that you’ve got this tough decision to make! Hopefully others can share their experiences, but from what I’ve read on here, it seems everyone’s journey & situation is different, so it’s not always easy to say the best way forward… We’ve had some members who’ve had the ES surgery first & then still needed a stent, and others who’ve had the stent & then ES surgery later.
It also comes down to how much confidence you have in your surgeon & his opinion about the stent? Is the thinking that the bilateral encephaloceles are linked to the blockage in your sigmoid sinus, or is it something separate that you were born with?
Have you had a CT with contrast for your ES diagnosis, did this show IJV compression? and if so is this bilateral or just one side? If it’s bilateral then you might not get symptom relief until both are done, so seeing Dr Hernandez for one side might not be that helpful, & also if you have IJV compression, is he able to take the styloid off close to the skull base, as otherwise it might not help …
I’m sorry, I think I’m giving you more questions than answers, but it’s an important decision, and so it’s best to consider all these things…sending you a hug 
Hey! I was not born with the encephalocele. The tegmen tympani bone started thinning in 2020 according to a ct I just found. I had a tympanoplasty in 2009 where they removed a cholesteotoma and put a t tube in after they redid my ear drum. My doctors are saying the encephalocele is unrelated but they also told me that I don’t have intracranial hypertension which this new doctor said I did. I don’t know who to trust anymore. The ENT that’s doing my surgery has said this may not even relieve my symptoms. The endovascular neurologist said the stent may fix the jugular vein issue to where I wouldn’t need the styloidectomy. I don’t believe that because of the amount of facial and neck pain I have. The stent is not going to miraculously decompress the nerve I wouldn’t think.
I did have a CT with contrast and they said it showed normal.
I had the same experience with my CTA & MRV @Michelled. I was told all is normal when I had bilateral IJV compression. I’m asymptomatic on the right possibly because it’s a soft tissue compression so the IJV isn’t rigidly compressed.
I’m sorry for the way your ear surgery has played out & for the bone erosion you have now which is causing so much pain/trouble.
You’re wise not to trust everything you hear from doctors you consult. The more you know about your situation the better as it will help you make a better decision about who you want to do your surgery & how that needs to be done.
I’m sorry that you’ve been given so much confusing information, it’s so hard to know who to listen to. We have had members who’ve seen the most well known vascular ES doctors & have been given differing opinions too…if you’re having the nerve pain symptoms of ES then more than likely you would still need a styloidectomy, you’re right about that!