Sleep disorder caused by sleep apnea.
In general, surgery for sleep apnea is only about 50% successful. However, you would need to talk with your surgeon regarding your specific situation. Surgery is usually recommended only after medical therapy has failed. If your main concern is the snoring, then either the laser procedure or the new Somnoplasty carries about an 85% success rate for resolution of the snoring.
Snoring sleep apnea help.
Sleep apnea is when someone involuntarily does not breath during sleep. It can be either central or obstructive. Central apnea, which is less common, is when the brain forgets to tell the body to breath. Obstructive apnea occurs when the muscles or soft tissue in the throat prevents the normal movement of air. The signs of obstructive sleep apnea include severe snoring, breath holding, fatigue, and morning headache.
Sleep apnea must be diagnosed by a sleep study. A sleep study measures the heart rate, breathing patterns, and brain waves of the patient while they sleep. It is absolutely essential that this study be done on anyone suspected of having sleep apnea.
The treatments for sleep apnea include weight loss, avoidence of sleep
depressants (alcohol, sleeping pills, etc), CPAP ( a mask used at night
to keep the airway open), dental repositioning devices, and surgery.
During normal breathing, air passes through the throat on its way to
the lungs. The air travels past the soft palate, uvula, tonsils, and
tongue. When a person is awake, the muscles in the back of the throat
tighten to hold these structures in place preventing them from
collapsing into the airway. During sleep, these structures can fall
into the airway causing snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.
Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty with or without tonsillectomy are surgical
procedures designed to circumvent this sleep releated collapse of
these structures. The new Laser assisted uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP) is a
laser surgical procedure designed to sequentially trim and shorten the
palate preventing or reducing snoring. Its effect on sleep apnea is
unproven.
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