Sleep Apnea Surgery

Sleep apnea surgery

        There are a lot of treatments for sleep apnea depinding on the severity of the disease. A way to treat treat apnea is sleep apnea surgery. However, this intervention is not very safe and takes a long time for recovery. Usually, surgery is recommended for those suffering from severe sleep apnea.

       The first therapeutic measures will consists in lifestyle changes and then if they have not been successful, it will resort to surgery. Also, before you should treat other health problems such as infections and thyroid dysfunction.

Surgical options

        There are several surgical options:

• Uvulo-palato-faringoplastia, which removes the excess tissue from the airways and it is the most common sleep apnea surgery.
• Tonsilectomia and / or adenoidectomia, which consists in removing the tonsils and hypertrophied giant adenoids that cause the obstruction of the airway during sleep. This is the first intervention in children. The doctor will also make other types of surgery in order to restore congenital anomalies that are favoring obstructive apnea:
• Traheostomy
• Bariatric surgery
• Other surgeries

Uvulo-palato-faringoplastia

       It is a quick action and without bleeding allowing remodeling of the soft palate and uvula in patients with sleep apnea. Sleep apnea surgery brings a minimum trauma to the palate, without cutting or tearing of the mucosa and causes no burns (because of low temperatures of coblation). It's goal is to obtain wider airways.

Tonsilectomia

       Sleep apnea is a characteristic disease in children. Tonsils are so thick that causes the obstruction of airways and block breathing. Children affected by this disease are awakened at night because they can not breathe and in the morning are exhausted. In adults, it is recommended the sleep apnea surgery to remove the tonsils, but also to use a device with continuous positive pressure. It is performed under general anesthesia and hospitalization is required for a day. Intervention takes about half an hour.

       Your doctor may propose a laser surgery (in adults). Its main advantage is that there is no need for general anesthesia. Surgery consists in burning the surface of the tonsils, to destroy them. There are needed two or three sessions,depending on the size of tonsils. In any case, whatever the method chosen, the result is the same and, unfortunately, the pain is the same!

Results

       In children, tonsils operation repair apnea in 99% of cases. Instead, adults are not solved so quickly.

What happens after surgery?

       Tonsils operation is a painful surgery, pain is felt and a week after surgery. Many people do not even speak for several days. In this sense, the doctor may prescribe painkillers.

Adenoidectomia

        Adenoidectomia is a sleep apnea surgery which refers to the excision of polyps. It can be performed under general or local anesthesia and it is used an endoscopic method so that the doctor will see all the time the zone that is involved.

Traheostomy

       This is a risk sleep apnea surgery and it is used only when other methods don't give result. The major risk is that other health problems can appear. The medical act is to proced a hole in the windpipe and to introduce a tube for the air.

Bariatric surgery

       This sleep apnea surgery is made when the pacient is overweight.Bariatric sugery is a way to solve the weight problem which triggers apnea.

Other surgeries

       There are other sleep apnea surgeries that are made in order to correct the anatomical abnormalities. Sleep apnea surgery refers at the the repairing of the tissues and bones from the mouth and throat.

Apnea surgery risks

       Haemorrhage is a major risk, of sleep apnea surgery and it occurs in 1% of cases. The amount of bleeding can occur even at 15 days after surgery, so the patient is asked not to leave their normal residence for 2 weeks. Adenoids surgery is made only if the pacient is healthy and usualy is not performed if the child is under 1 year old.

       In case of bariatric surgery there are some risks that will be presented to the pacient before of the sleep apnea surgery. Some of these are: bleeding, heart problems, infection or problems caused by the anesthesia.