Can obstructive sleep apnea be cured by operation?If so is the operation an easy process or is it complicated?
by Sarah Aniston
Filed under Sleep Apnea Books
Comments
3 Responses to “Can obstructive sleep apnea be cured by operation?If so is the operation an easy process or is it complicated?”Speak Your Mind
Tell us what you're thinking...and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!
Be Sleep Apnea Free
Recommended Site
I’m pretty sure it can be but I think the surgery can be somewhat complicated. I’ve have had numerous patent’s that
have had a surgery to reduce the size of the uvula to help sleep apnea. But in one case I remember they did a tracheotomy to fix the problem, I really don’t think I would want either one done to me though.
Typically, the first option is through CPAP or Constant Positive Airway Pressure therapy. This is a mask worn over the nose and/or mouth and connected to a machine that supplies constant air pressure to prevent the airway from closing during sleep. Typically, you would need to get referred by your family physician to a sleep center and have a sleep study done. Most health insurances cover the cost of this, because the alternatives are more expensive, up to and including death. Sleep apnea can lead to serious cardiovascular complications, including heart failure if left untreated. Lots of times, losing weight will reduce the amount of fat in the tissues of the neck and throat and allow air to pass through normally, but the overweight person has trouble keeping the airway open during sleep.
Surgery is an option and can include removal of the uvula, tonsils, adenoids, and even some of the tongue to create an opening to allow air to flow during sleep. Surgery can be very serious and very expensive.
Check with your doctor about the options available to you. If you do indeed have sleep apnea, you should begin treatment on a CPAP machine as soon as possible. This will hopefully provide you with the energy throughout the day to start a physical fitness program to reduce weight. It’s hard for people with sleep apnea to exercise simply because they never get a good night’s sleep and are chronically fatigued throughout the day and do not have the energy.
Look into becoming involved in a sleep study, most hospitals will have a sleep disorders center and can provide you with more information.
Surgery is normally a last option. CPAP is the primary treatment. There are some types of OSA that need surgery but by far most don’t. There are many types of OSA that surgery won’t help and I personally know two people who got the surgery (one twice) and it hasn’t helped, they are both still on CPAP and have decided it’s not so bad afterall. There can be serious complications from throat surgery and virtually no risks with CPAP. I know one who got the surgery and it worked for but he said that the recovery was very unpleseant. I think biblical terms came to mind.
Using a CPAP can take some getting used to but is woth it. I took to it right away because I loved the newfound energy and alertness I received from it.
I was tested and diagnosed with OSA after my wife saw mw stop breathing for more than 30 seconds one night. It turned out I have severe sleep apnea averaging over 90 inteuptions per hour anywhere from 10 seconds to over a minute. I never got passed stage two sleep into stages 3 and 4 where your restorative sleep takes place and REM wasn’t even on the horizon. It was a split study so the first half of the night, I was tested without any assistance. The second half was with a CPAP controlled by the tech in the control room. When I woke up the next morning after getting just 3 1/2 hours of quality sleep, I was on cloud nine ready to do everything I could find time to do!
I’m actually going in for a test this evening to see if after 2 1/2 years there needs to be any adjustments in my pressure, I’ve begun snoring through the CAPA a little now and then. Tonight will be with CPAP all night as I have learned that I now don’t sleep without the CPAP. We had a power failure recently and I just couldn’t sleep well at all. I’ve come to love my CPAP and travel with it.
If CPAP will work for you, I would not even consider doing surgery.