Treatments
Surgical Solutions
Can surgery on my nose and tonsils help me sleep better?
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Consider surgery if you have tried CPAP, oral appliances, weight loss, positional therapy, and nothing worked, OR, if you do not want to use CPAP, and cannot use a mouthguard (because you are getting braces, invisalign or dental implants).
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Tonsillectomy is frequently a cure for sleep apnea in children, but is less effective in overweight and obese children. Take a look at your tonsils, are they very big? if so, getting them removed may cure your snoring and sleep apnea even if you're an adult.
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If your nose is very congested and you often have to breathe through the mouth (especially at night), surgery on the septum (the thin wall that divides the left from the right side of the nose), or the turbinates (other part of the inside of the nose that can swell and cause a clogged nose) may help snoring and mild sleep apnea.
Are there other surgeries that might work for me?
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Minimally invasive surgery such as Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) can be effective in curing mild and moderate sleep apnea. Find out more about our clinical trial currently under way ... RFA is done in the office with lower risk and much lower pain than tonsillectomy. It usually requires multiple applications of the heat treatment to the palate and tongue at 6 week intervals. The treatment is usually completed within 6 months.
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Many other surgical procedures exist and are successful in the right patient in the right hands. Hypoglossal Nerve Stimulation therapy is a new treatment that can cure sleep apnea by the implantation of a pacemaker under the chest skin which stimulates the nerve to the tongue (the Hypoglossal nerve). Like other procedures, it works for the right patient. The Inspire device is the first such treatment and was recently approved by the FDA.
