 | This articleneeds morereliable medical references forverification or relies too heavily onprimary sources. Please review the contents of the article andadd the appropriate references if you can. Unsourced or poorly sourced material may be challenged andremoved.Find sources: "Somnoplasty" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2012) |
Somnoplasty[1] is type ofsleep surgery usingradiofrequency ablation medical devices for habitualsnoring, chronicnasal obstruction, andobstructive sleep apnea (OSA) to shrink the tissues that are causing obstruction. Somnoplasty is typically anoutpatient procedure that takes 30–45 minutes.[citation needed]
Prior to somnoplasty procedure, a doctor may want a patient to attempt more conservative remedies such as sleeping in a different position.[2] Once the Somnoplasty procedure is started, the patient is given alocal anesthetic and a special needle-like electrode with an insulating sleeve covering all but the tip, that delivers RF energy under the surface of the tissue. The electrode is used to administer controlled, low-power RF energy to create coagulative (clotting) lesions, where tissue is denatured, beneath the mucosa (lining) of the targeted areas:
Note: the actual areas targeted depends on each individual's specific anatomy, so the above are just general associations.
After 6–8 weeks, the lesions are naturally resorbed as the necrotic tissue is swept away and the surface sinks to fill the void, which reduces the volume of the tissue while stiffening what remains. When this occurs the airway is enlarged, allowing a less-restricted flow of air. In addition, the scar tissue at the margins of the lesion is relatively firm and less inclined to contribute to snoring. Several follow-up treatments are usually required to obtain the desired results. Most insurance companies do not cover somnoplasty since it is not a widely accepted treatment for sleep apnea.
Common side effects includeswelling anddiscomfort. Rarer side effects includebleeding andinfection.[3]
Somnoplasty was invented by Stuart D. Edwards, andIngemar Henry Lundquist ofMenlo Park, California. The original patent assignee was Vidamed, Inc.[4] It is currently marketed by Somnus Medical Technologies, Inc. ofSunnyvale, California.[5] Somnoplasty is a trademark by Somnus Medical Technologies.[6]