Sleep apnea is a serious disorder. People who have sleep apnea have a smaller airway than those who do not have this disorder. This is why it is harder for a person to breathe during their sleeping cycle. Typically the narrowing is in the upper airway and occurs during the sleep cycle. Physicians may recommend that a patient who has sleep apnea undergo sleep apnea surgery.
About Sleep Apnea Surgery
The airway tends to be "obstructed" during the sleep cycle. This can be corrected through surgery is different ways. Depending upon what the condition of the patient's sleep apnea is will help to determine the type of surgery that the patient will have. The complexity of the condition will vary greatly between patients. Anatomical differences between patients are the reason why what will work for one patient may not work for another. Surgical procedures have been modified to account for the differences between adult anatomy and child anatomy as well.
To begin with, surgeons can make the airway larger by removing soft tissue. Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty is the most common form of sleep apnea surgery that has been performed during the past 25 years. Typically, the removal of soft palate and pharyngeal tissue, uvula and tonsillar tissues are at the top of the list. This will help to widen the airway and enable the patient to breathe better during nocturnal hours.
Another common type of sleep disease surgery includes nasal surgery where septoplasty and turbinate reduction is preformed. Other types of sleep apnea surgery do exist and are usually some form of the Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty that was mentioned previously. For example, Uvulopalatal Flap surgery and Pharyngoplasty is single forms of this surgery where the surgeon only concentrates on one particular area.
Another form of sleep disease surgery instead of soft tissue removal is to expand the bone structure, especially that of the jaw. Maxillomandibular Expansion surgery is where surgeons work to expand the maxilla and the mandibular bones (upper and lower jaw bones). Because of the orthodontic therapy that is needed with this surgery, patients may refuse to have this done. The healing process for this surgery is considerably longer than soft tissue removal surgery.
A complete evaluation of the head, neck and throat region is required to accurately assess the sleep apnea condition that the patient may have. It is highly recommended that the physician order an airway examination by fiber optic scope to visually examine the inside of the airway. This will enable the physician to view the problem, measure the airway opening and accurately judge the type of surgery that would be beneficial to that particular patient.
The outcome of the surgery depends greatly upon the patient, the scope of the condition and the type of surgical procedure that was preformed. All of these aspects must work in relation to each other to enable the patient to receive the maximum benefits from sleep disease surgery. Your physician will be able to guide you and recommend the proper surgery for you and they will be able to answer any questions that you may have about this surgical procedure.
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