Posted on: December 17, 2012 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

How Effective is Surgery For Snoring?

Snoring can not only be a serious health problem but an embarrassing one as well. There are many people who suffer from it and simply ignore it but that is the worst mistake you could do. Snoring might seem harmless but there could be some deep rooted problem associated with it, which would cause problems later. Hence, don’t take snoring lightly.

However, this doesn’t mean that you should run for surgery at the first signs of snoring. Nor surgical options must be thoroughly explored before surgery is even contemplated. Correct any problems you have in your nasal cavity which could be the cause before you embark on palate surgery. Here are some points you must know about palate surgery and snoring before you do anything else –   

1. What is Palatal Surgery? 

Most people think that the cause of snoring originates from the area around the base of your tongue but that is wrong. Snoring actually originates from the palate or the roof of your mouth. So, palatal surgery aims to correct any abnormalities in your palate that might cause snoring.

Also, sometimes the area around the throat (oropharyngeal segment) tends to collapse and palatal surgery reduces and eliminates it. This can be done by removing the tonsils or reducing excess soft palate. Sometimes, the uvula is also removed.

2. What are the Surgical Options?

Your surgeon won’t undertake surgery straight away. Most surgeons like to examine the level and amount of obstruction and a process called ‘Sleep Nasendoscopy’ is conducted for that. This is to find out the region where the collapse is occurring in the region of your upper airway. The procedure takes a lot of time and is pretty expensive but you are sedated throughout the entire process.

These are the possible surgical procedures that you could explore –

  • Pillar Procedure
  • Septoplasty
  • LAUP (Laser assisted uvuloplatoplasty)
  • Injection Snoreplasty
  • Somnoplasty
  • CAPSO (Palatal-stiffening operation)

Snoring mouthpieces are a great alternative that you may consider before resorting to surgeries. You can check this page to find out more about the best snoring mouthpieces that are available in the market.

3.      What Are The Important Things You Should Know Before Surgery?

  • The surgery is not a painful process because you would be sedated but that doesn’t mean that there will be no pain after surgery.
  • A sleep study is always carried out before surgery is even considered.
  • Surgery is not always successful. There are no guarantees about your snoring going away after the process. Sometimes, the problem gets solved only to return back after some time.
  • Surgery is conducted with the presumption that the base of your tongue is not the issue. However, there have been instances where that is exactly what’s causing the snoring. Surgery would fail in such cases.
  • There are some criteria for the surgery. You have the cut your intake of alcohol, have correct jaw shape and must have your tonsils intact.
  • People who put on weight around the area of the neck after the surgery find that the snoring has returned.

You must also know that surgery is always the last resort. It doesn’t always work and once undertaken, it cannot be reversed. So, explore other options properly before you take this one.

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