Sleep Apnea Surgery Choices
Millions of Americans suffer from the irritating medical condition known as sleep apnea. One of the ways it can be treated is with surgery and there are a number of sleep apnea surgery choices that doctors use today. Surgery is never performed until other non-evasive treatments (such as mouth guards & CPAP) have been tried and have failed. The surgery choices are Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, Tonsillectomy and/or Adenoidectomy, Tracheostomy and Bariatric surgery.
Uvulopalatopharygoplasty is a surgical procedure which removes excess tissue from the throat and it generally results in a wider airway. It is used primarily for adults suffering from the disorder of sleep apnea. Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy removes the tonsils and adenoids. This surgical technique is used when a person has enlarged tonsils and adenoids that are blocking the airway. It is used often on children suffering from mild forms of sleep apnea. Tracheostomy is a surgery that creates a hole in the trachea. A tube is inserted in the hole to bring in air and it often results in a complete cure for the disorder. The final surgical procedure that can be tried is Bariatric surgery. It is done exclusively for weight loss and is used often to treat obese people who are having trouble sleeping. Another less common surgical option is laser-assisted Uvulopalatoplasty which utilizes a laser to perform the surgery. It is used to treat mild to moderate sleep apnea and has not proved to be as beneficial as other surgical methods.
Surgery is a choice that many doctors use when they have patients who have small airway dimensions or a floppy airway that tends to collapse. Surgery helps to enlarge the airway and decreases its collapsibility. The success rate of any sleep apnea surgery depends on the airway pattern and severity of the obstruction of each individual patient. And the surgery itself can be routine or quite complicated, depending on the patient’s medical condition. Sleep apnea surgery is becoming more and more common as a means to reduce or eliminate sleep apnea symptoms. It usually results in giving at least some relief to most patients and it is often recommended as a final way to deal with this sometimes serious medical condition.