TREATMENT OPTIONS WE CAN PROVIDE FOR SLEEP APNEA
Dealing with sleep apnea may seem like a lifelong battle. This is especially true with obstructive sleep apnea. This type of disorder occurs when the tongue or other tissue in the mouth is pulled back against the throat, blocking airflow and causing you to actually stop breathing for a short amount of time.
Your brain then partially wakes you up so the tongue falls back into the normal position. You may not realize you’re even waking up at night, but in the morning, you’ll feel as if you haven’t slept much at all.
Fortunately, there are options for treating obstructive sleep apnea. Here are a few treatments we provide.
Palatal Implants
One effective treatment for those who have fairly mild sleep apnea is to have small rods place into the soft palate of the mouth. This makes the tissue stiffer, preventing it from falling into the airway and causing blockage. This is a permanent solution that doesn’t require you to do anything afterwards.
Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty
This very long procedure, usually abbreviated to UPPP, is another type of surgery done on the soft palate. Unlike palatal implants, though, we don’t actually add anything to your mouth. Instead, we cut away some of the excess tissue from the throat and move it elsewhere. The end result is that your airway is a little wider. We may also need to take out your tonsils and reduce the size of the soft palate. Often, while UPPP helps, it does need to be combined with another type of solution to deal with severe sleep apnea.
Hyoid Suspension
Hyoid Suspension also enlarges your airway. It targets your throat’s lower area
where the hyoid bone is located. This bone is shaped like a U and is found in
your neck. The tongue and other parts of the throat connect to it. In a hyoid
suspension, we pull this bone slightly forward to help make your airway larger.
There are a number of other surgical options that can help with sleep apnea.
Some are more common and more effective than others, but the right option for
you depends on your unique needs and issues. Give us a call today to book an
appointment to discuss how we can help you.
