Obstructive Sleep Apnea Surgery
If other sleep apnea treatments have failed, a dentist might recommend obstructive sleep apnea surgery. There are many different types all of which are usually performed by an oral surgeon or an orthodontist. Since all the surgery options are orally based, a general practitioner cannot help. The patient must seek out specialized care from an oral surgeon, dentist, or orthodontist who has obstructive sleep apnea surgery experience. Such an expert can work with the patient to determine the type of obstructive sleep apnea surgery needed.
Surgery as an obstructive sleep apnea treatment or and sleep apnea snoring treatment is the most invasive option, but it is also the most long-lasting and can even cure sleep apnea by completely removing the cause. The simplest is somnoplasty, used both to treat sleep apnea and snoring. This is usually an outpatient procedure that is done in the office. It just removes a small amount of soft tissue from the back of the throat through the use of radio waves. Another name that it goes by is radio frequency tissue ablation (RFTA). Since this is still a new obstructive sleep apnea surgery technique, some dentists and surgeons may not offer it, and there is not as much evidence to back up its effectivness. If a deviated septum in the nose is the cause, the sleep apnea treatment might be nasal surgery to correct that defect.
Another, more pervasive obstructive sleep apnea surgery to reduce soft tissue in the airway is Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP). Under a general anesthesia, the oral surgeon or orthodontist will take out soft tissue from the back of the mouth, the top of the throat and usually the tonsils and adenoids, as well. The goal of this obstructive sleep apnea surgery is to create more of an open space for air intake in the back of the throat and to clear away any possible tissue obstructions. Unfortunatly, UPPP and somnoplasty may not fix sleep apnea if it is caused by an obstruction further down in the throat. There are other surgical procedures a physician may follow if somnoplasty or UPPP do not work.
Maxillomandibular advancement might be tried if the problem is the shape of the jaw. Performed by an oral surgeon or an orthodontist, upper and lower jaw are moved forward to open up more space at the back of the throat. Obviously, this is a major obstructive sleep apnea surgery option and the patient should find a surgeon with the most experience in this field. There is often a long recovery period that requires numerous follow-up visits, but of the obstructive sleep apnea surgery types this is one of the most effective.
Lastly, if all else fails, the doctor might discuss the possibility of a tracheostomy. A tracheostomy is a sleep apnea treatment that involves making an incision in the windpipe and inserting a tube. During the day, the patient covers the tube and breathes normally, but at night, the tube is uncovered and helps to increase the oxygen the patient takes in at night. This is cosmetically scarring, with the introduction of a breathing tube on the front of the neck, and the patient will have to add a daily cleansing routine to keep infection at the tube site at bay. Fortunately, this obstructive sleep apnea surgery is only done as a last resort.
No matter what form of obstructive sleep apnea surgery a patient and his dentist, oral surgeon, or orthodontist decide upon, it is always best to have an experienced surgeon perform the procedure.
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