Surgery Options For Snoring

If you wake up with bruises all over your body from your sleeping partner using you as a punching bag during the night due to your incessant snoring, it might be time to consider surgery to correct this problem. If you have tried behavioral techniques and conservative therapies such as CPAP for eliminating snoring and everything has failed, see your doctor for advice on surgery options. Your insurance company may consider this an elective or cosmetic surgery. Surgery is a last resort and should only be used in the severest of cases or where serious health risks are involved, such as with sleep apnea. Surgery for snoring may be performed as an outpatient procedure. In the surgical procedures described below, you can get an idea of the options your ontolaryngologist (an ear, nose and throat doctor) may recommend.

Somnoplasty: also referred to as Radio Frequency Tissue Ablation (RFTA) A minimally invasive procedure performed under local anesthesia that uses radiofrequency energy in the form of a needle electrode that discharges energy to reduce the soft tissue in the upper airway. After the procedure, the body reabsorbs the tissue. This procedure often requires more than one application.

Uyulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP): also can be performed as laser assisted uvuloplasty (LAUP). This procedure can be performed on people with mild apnea. LAUP and UPPP removes the soft tissue in the back of the throat and palate, widening the airway at the opening of the throat. UPPP corrects excess uvula tissue, enlarged tonsils or adenoids and excess tissue in the larynx. This is an inpatient procedure performed under general anesthesia and recovery time can be up to three weeks. Difficulty swallowing during recovery will be a result of this procedure. It is effective to decrease snoring and it cures 46-73% of all cases. With LAUP, the procedure involves using a laser to shorten the soft palate and cutting away of the uvula. The two to five outpatient sessions required and administered four to six weeks apart, each session lasting 30 minutes. LAUP is not recommended for apnea patients or light snorers but can be used for loud, disruptive snorers.

Mandibular maxillar advancement surgery: This invasive procedure is recommended for patients with craniofacial abnormalities and reserved for people suffering from severe sleep apnea. The surgery corrects the anatomy of the throat or face that is causing the apnea.

Nasal surgery: A procedure for patients with a deviated septum or other obstructions in the nose that are causing the blockage of the airway.

Genio-Glossus Advancement (GGA): the genioglossus is the major tongue muscle that retracts, advances and depresses the tongue. This procedure opens the upper breathing passage through operating on the tongue. Used for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), it suspends the tongue to keep it from falling into the back of the throat during sleep. A tiny screw is inserted into the lower jawbone and prevents this from occurring. This procedure is usually reversible. Additionally, tongue reduction surgery can be performed to minimize the size of the base of tongue, opening the airway and eliminating snoring.

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