Snoring is the formation of a loud bass-like sound during breathing due to the relaxation of the muscles in the uvula, soft palate and root of the tongue, and excessive vibration and collision of the tissues in this area during sleep. Apnea is the cessation of breathing for at least 10 seconds, and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome; It is defined as a syndrome characterized by repetitive complete or partial narrowing of the upper airways during sleep and often a decrease in blood oxygen saturation.
In these patients, not being able to go down to the desired depth of sleep at night, waking up tired in the morning due to low blood oxygen level, daytime sleepiness, difficulty in losing weight, irritability, depressed mood, memory and concentration problems, high blood pressure and heart problems, diabetes, heart failure, stroke, Heart attack, sexual problems, frequent urination, respiratory failure in lung patients, such as diseases that should be considered extremely important may occur.
Sleep Apnea Diagnosis and Treatment
- First of all, ear, nose and throat examination and endoscopic examination for snoring should be done. All airways from the nose to the trachea should be evaluated with endoscopic examination. The most common causes of narrowing the airways are sagging of the uvula, a large tongue root, adenoid, curvature of the nose called deviation, and enlargement of the nasal concha.
- Polysomnoography (Sleep Test): It is a test that analyzes your sleep in detail by recording the oxygen level in the blood, breathing, brain wave movements, heart rate, and eye and leg movements during the sleep test. Sleep testing is often done at night. However, it can be done during the day for those who work in shifts and have the habit of sleeping during the day.
What are the Treatment Methods in Sleep Apnea?
Snoring and sleep apnea are diseases that can be treated. Every well-treated patient attains a healthy life.
Snoring and sleep apnea can be treated with general precautions, various devices that give positive air (CPAP, BPAP, APAP, etc.), devices called intraoral appliances, or surgically. Intraoral appliances are effective only in patients with certain levels of stenosis in the endoscopic examination performed after the ear, nose and throat examination.
What are the Surgical Treatment Methods in Sleep Apnea?
The aim of surgical treatments is to tighten, remove and reduce the structures that cause obstruction in the airway. We make up-to-date surgeries and new technological plans for all our snoring patients.
Pharyngoplasty and Palatoplasty Surgeries
Today, these operations are the most commonly used methods in the surgical treatment of sleep apnea. With this method, we provide enlargement of the airways without cutting the uvula. The tissues around the uvula, soft palate and tonsils are reshaped, creating a larger space for air passage. We discharge our patients after 2-3 days of hospitalization after this surgery.
Surgery for the tongue root
We perform tissue removal from the tongue root, suspending the tongue root to the chin with sutures or reducing the tongue root with radiofrequency. We discharge our patients after 2-3 days of hospitalization after this surgery.
Other surgeries
Removal of large tonsils (tonsillectomy), removal of adenoids (adenoidectomy), deviation surgery if there is cartilage-bone curvature in the nose, reduction of the nasal concha with radiofrequency method or surgically, and surgery to correct the position of the jawbones in patients with jaw structure disorders are used to treat sleep apnea. .
