Posted on 10/24/2007 12:11:25 PM PDT by crazyshrink
Oral surgery can reduce CPAP needs in patients with sleep apnea (Chicago, IL, October 24, 2007) — A procedure known as uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) may help some patients improve or even eliminate their obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to a new study. The research, presented at CHEST 2007, the 73rd annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), says the procedure, which removes excess tissue in the throat or mouth to widen the airway, can reduce the amount of treatment required by patients with OSA. In addition, researchers say UPPP also can eliminate OSA completely in some patients.
“Continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, is a well-established treatment for sleep apnea,” said lead study author Akram Khan, MD, Assistant Professor, University of Florida Jacksonville, “and while most patients tolerate it well, some are unable to tolerate it or don’t want to, and those patients need alternative means of treatment.”
To determine if UPPP provided improvement in sleep parameters, Dr. Khan and his colleagues from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, evaluated the success of the procedure in 63 patients aged 18-80, with OSA, over a 7-year period. All patients underwent UPPP and were assessed with polysomnography within a 6-month period, pre-procedure and post-procedure.
Results showed that UPPP eliminated OSA in approximately one quarter to one-third of patients, depending on the definition of success. Of those who experienced residual OSA and returned to CPAP use, the required CPAP setting was modestly lower. In addition, researchers reported that UPPP also reduced the mean apnea-hyponea index in patients.
“The apnea-hyponea index basically tells us the number of times a patient with sleep apnea quits breathing per hour,” Dr. Khan explained. “We found that the surgical procedure reduced patients’ apenic (nonbreathing) episodes by more than half.” According to Dr. Khan, UPPP provided an improvement in oxygen levels and other parameters of sleep, as well.
First described in 1981, UPPP has been used widely with varying results. Though researchers are unclear on what characteristics make up the ideal UPPP candidate, they suggest that patients with mild OSA, who are relatively young, lean, and healthy, may have the best results with this procedure. Researchers also believe that a decrease in CPAP requirements would likely improve compliance in patients who don’t have their OSA completely resolved.
“Obstructive sleep apnea increases the risk of other illnesses, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke, among others,” said Alvin V. Thomas, Jr., MD, FCCP, President of the American College of Chest Physicians. “Patients and physicians need to work together to recognize the signs of sleep apnea and to identify which method of treatment is most suitable.”
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Try saying that fast five times.
I’ve tried that with MD’s and they can do it with out hesitation, a thing which surprised me since they weren’t expecting the question and the words were jaw-breakers like that one.
Yeah that’s the big hazard, killed Reggie White. Suffocating a couple hundred times a night turns out to be pretty bad for you. Glad the treatment is working for you, SA is a pretty scary thing.
My wife serves that purpose.
Check with the cpap manufacturer, Respironics I would assume. Your doctor may have prescribed a more expensive model than you need. All the new models work the exact same way - they’re the same exact hardware, just different software. The different software allows for more diagnostic but the “help you breath” functionality is the same. You might be able to get a cheaper model.
I did an internship with Respironics and have had family members work there in various capacities - and I had an uncle die from sleep apnea. For everyone who thinks it’s not serious, you’re wrong. Severe snoring and bad sleeping are no fun but the real problems are much more serious. If you’ve got sleep apnea, get a cpap/mpap machine. Sleeping with a mask is better than being dead.
Stats wise....more often than not, the person with OSA...is overweight.
She had more energy and eventually lost over 50 pounds.
Before the procedure, I didn't get any sleep as I was worried about her not waking up. One time she began to turn blue.
I tell people that the cpap saved and changed my life. I am pretty chubby but I had SA in college when I was thin and in great shape (my best friend was my rommie freshman year and he used to beat me with a pillow because my snoring was driving him nuts). Like you, I was getting worse and worse. Falling asleep at work while trying to write reports and while driving.
The wife talked me into taking a sleep study after bugging me about it for 4 or 5 years. The next day after I was done, the Dr called me and said they needed to get me a machine THAT DAY (normally it takes a couple of weeks for them to evaluate the study and make a diagnosis and then get a machine prescribed) because it was so bad. The dr called my wife and told her it was a miracle that I hadn’t died in my sleep.
It is such a gift to not be tired and fatigued all the time. I can go to the movies and not fall asleep in the middle and snore and stay awake at work without massive doses of caffeine.
Glad you are feeling better brother FReeper.
I’d rather be dead than sober.
Let me know...
DC, if your problem is just snoring, resist the impulse to have anything surgical done. I've had several friends have the laser version of this procedure. It worked, but they could only eat liquids for about a month while the carnage in the back of their throat healed.
ROFLOL!!
I thought it odd myself............
I had neck/spinal surgery where they came through the front of my neck, narrowing the throat passage. Though I snored previously, it was shutdown-mode after that. My wife took to sleeping in another room because she was afraid I would not start breathing again and could not get any rest with the my constant stoppage. When I was tested, they found I was going 40-45 seconds at a time without breathing before finally waking up and taking a breath (suddenly and abruptly). I was in a bind, and the CPAP machine has been a lifesaver for me. My wife also moved back in as it stopped my snoring entirely. I rather doubt the surgery they mention here would help my condition, but don’t knock those of us who use a CPAP machine. I rather doubt I would be here without mine, and I know my quality of life is vastly inproved because of it.
This is a new study, which acknowledges UPPP has been around since the 80’s, and has/will be published soon is all. And you are right, it comes from their annual meeting in which many studies and presentations were made.
My hubby had it done 10 years ago, he did not have a lot of success. Yes he is obese, but his sleep study just a few months ago revealed 84 times a hour he did not breathe and a traditional CPAP caused or revealed central sleep apnea. This is neurological and he does not even exhale. Anyway, bottom line, the procedure did not work but the BPAP does. Best of luck- he sleeps!
It help to open up my breathing but I still snore. I’m glad I had it. I don’t wear the mask.
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