Surgeries are considered to be the last resort, when it comes to treating the problem of snoring. Following are some of the most preferred snoring surgery procedures:
Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty:
It is not only the oldest, but also the most invasive surgical procedures to cure snoring problems. This surgery involves the removal of uvula, tonsils and some parts of the soft palate, and enlargement of the nasal airway. Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty or UPPP removes the soft tissue that often vibrates when the person snores. This helps to clear any kind of nasal blockage. This surgery is not effective, when it comes to treating snoring caused due to improper functions of tongue.
Laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty
This is the most common surgery for treating snoring. In this procedure, a carbon dioxide laser is used to vaporize some parts of the uvula. The patient may be administered with a local anaesthetic before starting the surgery. The procedure can be completed in just about half an hour. However, a patient may be required to undergo 3-5 sessions of the same. Also, Laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty has a good success rate.
Somnoplasty:
Somnoplasty is also referred to as radiofrequency volumetric tissue reduction (RFVTR). It is a recently developed surgical procedure and involves shrinking of the tissues in the soft palate, tongue or throat. It takes around 30 minutes to execute this surgery. This is perhaps the most effective surgical procedure in treating snoring. It is relatively much painless and has a better success rate than Laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty.
Tonsilectomy:
Tonsilectomy is a less invasive surgical procedure and hence, is less painful. It involves stabilization of tongue’s base, thereby preventing it from falling backward while sleeping. In this procedure, a titanium screw is tucked into the lower jaw and a suture is made to pass through the base of the tongue and is then fixed with the screw. The major drawback of this procedure is that it takes much time to heal.
Finally, consult your physician before undergoing any such snoring surgery procedures.
Snoring may prove to be a nuisance. And if ignored and left untreated, it may cause complications. Therefore, it is necessary for you to take necessary curative measures before the problem aggravates. You may consider stop snoring surgery for getting rid of the snoring problems. Following are the types of surgical procedures done to treat the problems of snoring:
1. Maxillomandibular advancement: It is a complex procedure, which involves cutting of bones that hold the upper and lower jaw.
2. Adenoidectomy: In certain cases, the adenoids present in your respiratory tract tend to overgrow than their actual size. Adenoidectomy is done in such cases to remove the adenoids so that they do not interfere your breathing process.
3. Soft palate surgery: Sometimes, there may be some parts of your soft palate that may disrupt your normal breathing process and hence, you may start snoring. Soft palate surgery removes such parts of your soft palate. It is considered to be one of the most effective surgical procedures to cure snoring. However, you may experience certain amount of pain for up to 10 days after this surgery. Hence, you may also be given some medication to get rid of your pain.
4. Tonsillectomy: This is the simplest stop snoring surgery as compared to other surgeries. This procedure involves removal of enlarged tonsils.
5. Nasal surgery: It is a minor surgical procedure, which involves strengthening of the nasal septum and removal of nasal polyps passage. However, there are chances that you may feel a bit uncomfortable for the first few days after the surgery. You may experience dryness in your mouth or blockage in your nasal passage.
It is good that you opt for stop snoring surgery as your last resort. However, remember that surgeries may not provide you permanent relief. Besides, every type of surgery has certain side-effects.
Surgical methods may prove to be very efficient in treating the problem of snoring. However, chances are that you may face certain health risks. Besides, you may find them a bit expensive. There are certain other alternatives that you may try rather than opting for snore surgery. Some of them are as follows:
Change of sleep posture
This is perhaps the most recommended and time-tested solution for snoring problems. You need to consult a qualified physician, who will then advice you about the proper sleeping postures. It is considered that sleeping sideways may help in reducing the snoring problem. By realigning your body, you prevent your jaws and tongue from dropping backward. Therefore, there will not be any blockage in the air passage and hence, you may not snore.
Improve your lifestyle:
This is the most simple alternative to snore surgery. All you have to do is follow a decent lifestyle. Avoid smoking and drinking as much as possible. Alcohol may bring about muscle relaxation, which in turn may obstruct the normal flow of air in the nasal passage and this may cause snoring. Similarly, the chemicals in cigarettes may harm the tissues of the respiratory system due to which a person may start snoring.
Exercise and weight issues:
If you are obese, it is good to start following a proper exercise and dietary regime. Obese people tend to have heavier body mass. Besides, the necks of an obese individual is relatively bulkier and contains excess amount of muscles. This may cause obstructions while breathing. As a result, the person may snore.
Respiratory exercises:
This is another alternate to snore surgery. As snoring mainly results from the blockage in the respiratory tract, it is good to start performing breathing exercises to relax your throat muscles and resume normal breathing. It may prove to be effective if performed on a regular basis.
Thus, with these alternatives, you may avoid surgical procedures to treat snoring problems.