Gotta Stop Snoring

Snoring is just a nuisance, especially for the sleeping partners of the person snoring. But there are cases where snoring is more than a nuisance for them it can lead to obstructive sleep apnea, where the person snoring has periods where breathing stops completely.

Sleep apnea is a serious condition and can even be fatal in some cases. Fortunately, a new treatment for snoring is now available, which uses lasers to treat this syndrome. This laser surgery for snoring, known as LAUP, which stands for Laser Assisted Uvulo Palatoplasty, is designed to trim and reshape the uvula and soft palate.

What happens during laser surgery for snoring?

After a local anesthetic, Lidocaine, is applied, CO2 lasers are used to make two incisions in the soft palate, and then to vaporize carefully selected parts of the uvula and palate while the patient is seated upright in an examination chair, fully awake. The procedure is painless and takes about ten minutes for each operation. The full laser surgery for snoring takes place over one to five sessions, spaced around four weeks apart.

Laser surgery for snoring Advantages and disadvantages

Because the laser surgery for snoring is carried out with microscopic precision and at very high temperatures, there is little, if any, bleeding. Pain is kept to a minimum, though the patient might have a sore throat and swallowing may be painful for a week to 10 days after each procedure, though this can be treated with regular, over the counter sore throat medicine. Occasionally, a temporary voice change may occur. The success rate is high, over 90 percent, with the majority of patients noticing a reduction or even the complete elimination of snoring after only two sessions.

The main disadvantage of laser surgery for snoring is the cost, around $500 per procedure, plus an evaluation fee. Many insurance carriers will not cover the cost except for in-patient treatment carried out in a hospital in very severe cases of sleep apnea, where the medical necessity for laser surgery for snoring has been established.

Relapses after laser surgery for snoring

A study carried out in Canterbury, England on patients two years after laser surgery for snoring found that, as with other laser treatments, there was a relapse in some patients. The survey found a relapse rate of 22 percent in patients who has shown success six months after treatment. The study also shows that the heat from the laser sometimes causes fibrosis of the palate and a narrowing of the airways.

This can lead to the point that the sleep apnea is worse than before the laser surgery for snoring. It is important to talk to your doctor about this problem before you consider laser surgery for snoring.

Originally posted 2009-05-13 07:20:44. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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