Snoring – Sleep Apnoea

This phenomenon appears frequently in men over 30. Sometimes also in women over 35. It can become a serious break in normal brain oxygenation and can be stressful for one's partner, as it prevents the normal sleep phases.

The causes of sleep apnoea vary: overweight, alcohol consumption, the position of the head, nasal septum deviation, nasal polyps, hypertrophy of nasal cornets, hypertrophy of the uvula and the relaxation of musculaturii valului palatin. These mechanisms lead to the vibration of PALATINE WAVE during sleep and to the sleep apnoea syndrome. There are conservative, minimally invasive and surgical methods to treat snoring, depending on how severe and how frequent the lack of breath is.

The traditional treatment is done by applying a mask with continuous positive air pressure during night time. It is a simple method but there is a problem: the patient sleeps with the mask. Medicinal instillations can be applied on the nasal mucous to free it and to control the head's position during sleep.

Surgical treatments correct the septum deviation and remove the polyps.

The easiest treatment from a technical standpoint and the easiest for the patient is the mimimally invasive treatment with radiofrequency, which has maximum efficiency in treating sleep apnoea. The intervention takes place under local anaesthesia of the PALATINE WAVE. Radiofrequency is applied to reduce the outgrowth of the uvula. Snoring is caused by the relaxation of PALATINE WAVE and, implicitly, of the uvula. This type of treatment reduces the size of the uvula so that it does not obstruct aerial ways, and reduces its relaxation. This is an outpatient treatment. Another session might be necessary after one month. The following side effects might appear the first two days after the intervention: difficulty swallowing, sore throat, and accentuated snoring when sleeping on the back. After the surgery, the patient needs to gargle 3-4 times/day with an antiseptic solution. The effects of the radiofrequency treatment will be seen in 14 days and will improve in 2-3 months after the surgery.

Snoring has been recognised as a diagnosis a very long time ago, but now there is a minimally invasive treatment: radio waves.