Sleep Apnea - Page 4

“They do have newer procedures such as Somnoplasty that work very well for some patients,” he adds.  The minimally invasive, outpatient procedure uses radio ablation to reduce and tighten excess tissue in the soft palate. 

Non-surgical approaches, while not often easy, can often be quite effective.  “Someone who is very obese may be able to eliminate their sleep apnea and snoring if they lose a sufficient amount of weight,” he says.  “Weight loss always helps.  We encourage it even while a patient is using CPAP.”

“For very mild cases of sleep apnea, you have a wider range of opportunities.”  These include dental devices that advance the jaw, originally developed to decrease snoring.  “If you have someone that is relatively thin and doesn’t have severe apnea, sometimes that alone will fix it.  The opportunities available depend on the severity of your problem, your Body Mass Index (BMI), and the anatomical structure of your oropharynx,” he says.  The long-term consequences of untreated sleep apnea include an increased risk of cardiovascular disease as well as increased susceptibility to accidents due to daytime sleepiness.

While most of the patients who present to the Sleep Center tend to be older, Fultz stresses that this does not mean that those who are younger don’t suffer from sleep apnea. “A young person just seems to tolerate being tired better,” he says. "But the problem is still there."

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