Snoring and Sleep Apnea
Nearly half of adults snore, and over 25 percent are habitual snorers.
WHat is Sleep apnea:
Sleep apnoea is when you stop breathing during sleep. The sleep apnoea which occurs in snorers is called obstructive sleep apnoea because the throat actually blocks while you are sleeping. Sufferers can be seen to be struggling for air and tend to wake with a loud grunt or snort. Sometimes they actually hear their own snoring and if a snorer is waking himself up at night, it is often because of sleep apnoea.
Candidates prone for snoring and sleep apnea
Obesity, male gender, old age, alcohol, sleeping position,smoking, blocked nose, enlarged adenoids and tonsils, familial predisposition.
HOW DOES SLEEP APNEA EFFECT OUR HEALTH
Sleep apnea leads to sleepless during day, reduced concentration span, dangerous to operate vehicles or heavy machinery. Long term sleep apnoea leads to chronic heart conditions and high morbidity.
When you visit ALVURA
You will be asked about the problem and examined, including your weight and height to calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI).
- You will be advised about weight loss if appropriate.
- You may have some form of ‘sleep study’ recommended and arranged. This essentially involves measuring your blood oxygen level, breathing and pulse rate. It can be done in the hospital overnight.
- If the ‘sleep study’ reveals you have sleep apnoea specific treatment will be recommended: ‘Continuous Positive Airway Pressure’ (CPAP) treatment. This involves wearing a mask over your nose at night. The mask gently blows air into you all the time, holding the airway open during breathing. This treatment is effective but needs careful supervision, particularly at first and not all patients find it tolerable or useful.
- If your nose is blocked and the surgeon thinks this is contributing significantly towards the snoring, you may be offered an operation to clear your nose.
- If you are slim and have a narrow throat, you may be offered surgery to your palate to shorten or stiffen it so that the snoring stops. There are a range of operations done for this and you need to discuss the benefits and risks of what you are being offered.
- In children who snore badly or have obstructive sleep apnoea, tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy can be very effective in curing the problem.
What are the different surgical options we can provide you to improve snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea?
The surgeon will first examine and investigate to identify the sites of airflow obstruction. Then as per the diagnosis, he may decide to undertake single or multiple procedures in one stage or in multiple stages to minimize these obstructions and bring relief from snoring and sleep apnoea.
Surgical treatments for obstructive sleep apnoea available in our hospital include:
Septoplasty and Turbinate Reduction:
Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP):
Barbed stitch Palatoplasty:
Midline Glossectomy and Base of Tongue Reduction:
Hyoid Suspension:
Genioglossus Advancement (GGA):
Maxillomandibular Osteotomy (MMO) and maxillomandibular advancement (MMA):.