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Why is snoring harmful? It prevents sound sleep of both the “snorer” and his loved ones. Most often, a person begins to complex about this “ability”, which leads to sleep disorders and other unpleasant phenomena.
The problem usually gets worse over time. And to the already familiar state of constant lack of sleep, such a phenomenon as apnea can join. In fact, this is a stop of all functions of the respiratory system for a short period of time. But over time, the duration of stops increases, which leads to high stress on the cardiovascular system. It is people who snore in their sleep that are at risk of developing strokes and heart attacks.
Modern medicine has already found ways to combat snoring. We are talking about radical measures – drug therapy does not make it possible to achieve the desired effect. Uvulopalatoplasty is an operation that allows you to normalize night breathing.
The nature of snoring
Snoring is not a disease. But most often it is a symptom of the development of a disease or pathology. For example, thyroid dysfunction, obesity or pathological sleep disorders. Stress, constant fatigue and the presence of bad habits contribute to the appearance of night snoring.
In this case, treatment should be aimed at eliminating the causes – normalization of weight, elimination of sleep pathologies and a healthy lifestyle can bring positive changes. In this case, uvulopalatoplasty is not indicated.
The operation is necessary only in the case when anatomical changes in the structure of the tongue, soft palate, tonsils, palatine arches are revealed. It is more often noted that the muscles of the soft palate have lost their tone, which led to the sagging of the tongue. The result of such changes is that the body suffers from a lack of oxygen and snoring appears. In this case, operable intervention is inevitable.
But it is worth understanding that the operation will not solve all problems. If the cause that provokes the development of snoring is not eliminated, it will return again and again. To achieve a long-term result of uvulopalatoplasty, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive examination of the patient and identify all the factors that contribute to the appearance of snoring.
Respiratory disorders due to snoring
Uvulopalatoplasty is indicated for patients diagnosed with an increase in the length of the uvula. When the pathology is in the early stages of development, we are talking about mild obstruction of breathing during sleep. At this stage, surgery is an effective treatment for snoring.
When it comes to a strong narrowing of the airways – there is not only a change in the length and shape of the tongue, but also the pathology of the larynx – a severe degree of obstruction is established. It is already possible to confidently say that the body suffers from nighttime roulades. The operation can bring only short-term improvements. At this stage, curing the patient from snoring is extremely difficult. Snoring can be a sign of sleep apnea – stops breathing during sleep.
Indications for surgery
Uvulopalatoplasty is indicated under the following conditions:
- airway obstruction is in a mild form of development;
- the patient is not subject to nocturnal respiratory arrest;
- the patient has no addictions – alcoholism, drug addiction, smoking;
- no obesity.
If the patient has night stops in the work of the respiratory system, then uvulopalatoplasty can cause an aggravation of the problem. That is, the number of episodes of apnea during sleep can increase dramatically. They occur due to too active filling of the lungs with oxygen, which causes a lack of carbon dioxide in the blood. Therefore, surgery is rarely prescribed for patients prone to this phenomenon.
The preparatory stage for surgery includes an examination of the whole body in order to identify the causes of snoring. For example, if we are talking about pathologies of the thyroid gland, then to consolidate the result of the operation, therapy is needed to eliminate the disease. The final stage of preparation for surgery includes cardiorespiratory monitoring or polysomnography. During these tests, all sleep pathologies are studied. If respiratory arrest syndrome is detected, uvulopalatoplasty is not performed.
The main methods of uvulopalatoplasty
To date, there are three methods for performing uvulopalatoplasty – classical, using radio waves and using a laser. All methods have their own characteristics and differ in efficiency.
Classical uvulopalatoplasty involves the excision of the tissues of the palatine uvula or its complete removal. The procedure is performed on an outpatient basis and under local anesthesia. Full recovery is noted as early as 7-9 days.
Laser technique is a more modern method of solving the problem of snoring. The conventional scalpel is replaced by a laser beam. As a result, tissue excision takes less time, and all vessels are immediately coagulated, which eliminates bleeding.
In addition, this method makes it possible to securely protect the patient from the ingress of pathogenic microflora into the surgical wound. The recovery period after laser excision is shorter and is not associated with the occurrence of severe pain.
Uvulopalatoplasty using high frequency radio waves is based on local heating of tissue cells to be removed. Due to the ability to precisely regulate the action of radio waves, only the necessary tissues are subject to removal, while the surrounding areas do not suffer. The main advantage of this technique is the complete absence of postoperative scars.
Contraindications and possible complications
Direct contraindications to uvulopalatoplasty include severe pathologies of the cardiovascular system, cancerous tumors in the body, a period of exacerbation of chronic diseases or infections in the body.
Also, the operation is not prescribed during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Possible complications include: postoperative bleeding, swelling of the palate, pain, inflammation of the palate.
Later, the following complications may appear: narrowing of the larynx due to the formation of a large amount of scar tissue, a change in voice. A positive effect of uvulopalatoplasty is noted in 60% of patients.