Have you ever wished for a perfect surgical procedure to correct snoring and obstructive sleep apnea? Unfortunately, there’s no such thing. UPPP, the most commonly performed surgery, has only a 40% success rate, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), less than a perfect track record. Still, people who have tried other therapies like a CPAP mask without results may want to talk to their doctor about surgery.

Is surgery for you?

Every surgical procedure involves a certain amount of risk. So how can you decide whether the potential benefits are worth it? Consider these points as you talk to your doctor:

• Surgical procedures are often more effective for snoring than for sleep apnea. It’s relatively easy to tighten or remove the saggy soft palate tissue that causes snoring. But sleep apnea may have other causes that surgery doesn’t correct. In fact, surgery that corrects snoring but not sleep apnea may actually put you at risk. Snoring is the main symptom of sleep apnea. Without snoring, there’s little sign of chronic, interrupted breathing during sleep.
• Increasing age and weight gain can affect sleep apnea and snoring over time. Additional operations may be needed to maintain the benefits of your first surgery.
• If you’re hoping to avoid additional sleep studies that monitor your response to CPAP, surgery won’t keep you out of the lab. Post-op sleep studies help doctors find out if the surgery was a success.
• While obstructive sleep apnea is more common among older people, surgery carries more risk as you age. The best candidates for surgery are younger patients who for one reason or another can’t use CPAP.

What are the surgical options?

Surgical procedures to correct snoring and sleep apnea essentially work the same way. They widen your airway, or remove the excess tissue that might be blocking the airway. That’s why these procedures are effective only for obstructive sleep apnea, when your airway becomes physically blocked. They don’t work for central sleep apnea, when your brain fails to tell your lungs to take the next breath.

UPPP (uvulopalatopharyngoplasty)

UPPP is the most common surgery for snoring and sleep apnea. In this procedure, your doctor removes the excess tissue at the back of your throat. This can greatly reduce snoring. However, sleep apnea remains a problem for about 60% of people who undergo UPPP, according to the NIH.

LAUP (laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty)

A form of laser surgery, LAUP lets doctors remove precisely targeted areas of throat tissue. But like UPPP, LAUP often reduces snoring without improving sleep apnea. Some experts recommend LAUP for heavy snorers who have mild sleep apnea, or don’t have sleep apnea at all.

Tracheostomy

This procedure is recommended only for people with life-threatening sleep apnea. In a tracheostomy, doctors create a small hole in your windpipe (trachea) to help you breathe easier while you sleep. Most patients who opt for tracheostomy have already undergone other types of surgery that were unsuccessful.

Jaw surgery

In some cases, sleep apnea is caused by an irregular lower jaw, such as a receding chin. If this is true for you, and your sleep apnea is severe, your doctor may suggest a jaw reconstruction. This procedure involves widening the airway at the level of the tongue as well as the soft palate. Jaw surgery is often successful, but it also carries a high risk of complications and may require a long recovery period.

Radiofrequency procedure (somnoplasty)

A new procedure, somnoplasty uses radio waves to shrink excess throat tissue. Several treatments may be required to receive the full benefit from a radiofrequency procedure.

Surgery is not a cure-all for sleep apnea — or snoring, for that matter. Many people experience a return of their symptoms as they grow older. Still, these procedures are worth discussing with your doctor when other treatments fail. You and your doctor can work together to make an informed decision about the best treatment for you.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 18th, 2007 at 6:57 am and is filed under Sleeping & Snoring. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.