Stop Snoring Surgery and Its Effects
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Surgery should be considered as the last attempt to cure your snoring. You should try every single possibility to cure your snoring before considering surgery. Even the usage of a CPAP device is less harmful when compared to the surgery option. The cost for a CPAP device is cheaper and you only have to endure it when you sleep. Going for surgery will leave a permanent change to your body and it might be for good or bad.
Most of the major surgeries focus on areas around your throat, mouth or nasal passageway which is the common cause for snoring. Most insurance companies consider stop snoring surgery as cosmetic surgery and will not help you cover the cost of the surgery. However one of the major benefits of stop snoring surgeries that involve improving or fixing the nasal passage is that it help you breathe during the day or at night when you are sleeping.
Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP)
It is one of the oldest methods of snore curing surgeries and the result is not consistent. The theory behind this surgery is to remove the soft tissues that cause vibrations when you breathe. So they will remove your uvula, tonsils and part of your soft palate.
The UPPP surgery has a lot of drawbacks. It is expensive to do and the recovery time is long. It can also cause major complications like severe bleeding when the tonsils are removed or airway obstruction when scar tissues form and the result may not even be permanent.
Laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty
This surgery method uses a carbon dioxide laser to vaporize part of the uvula. First local anesthetic is sprayed around the soft palate, uvula and tonsils. Then the surgeon will inject more anesthetic into the muscles of the uvula. After the anesthetic takes effect, he will make two incisions around the side of the uvula before cutting it off completely. The surgeon would also remove part of the soft palate too.
The result of the surgeries varies as it takes in the surgeon’s experience and skill to make the surgery a success.
Somnoplasty
In this surgery, the surgeon will use radio frequency to shrink the tissues around your tongue, throat or soft palate. He will first insert a thin needle into the inner tissue layer. The needle will emit a radiofrequency which will heats up the inner cell and kill it. Then the dead cells will be absorbed back by the body. The upper layer of the cells will not be affected at all.
This surgery will help strengthen the soft tissue by reducing its volume and stiffens it. This method has a higher success rate than LAUP and it is less painful. But you do have to endure two weeks of discomfort.
