Tonsils and Uvula Surgery

[kcengage]

I have been snorning for about 15 years (during teenage years too).  I was not overweight when I was a teenager, and is slightly overweight now.    I have seen many specialists in regards to my snoring and sleep apnea (mild - did a sleep study 4 years ago, I am sure that my sleep apnea has worsen a bit).  Some of the different specialists that I have seen are: ENT docs, Otolaryngologists, Internal Medicine/Respirologist, Dentist, and Sleep Disorder doctor.  I have tried the CPAP for 2 years (hate it) and I am currently using the mouth-guard (where my jaw is moved forward).  My most recent ENT doctor suggested removing my tonsisl and uvula (under the table, overnight in the hospital, anesthesia)...I was told that this post-op, the pain is 10x worse than strep throat...any comments?  Should I do this procedure?

[kcengage]

Is UPPP same thing as LU (laser uvulectomy)?

[Steven Y Park, MD]

If using your dental device helps, this means that you have to address your tongue in addition to palate/tonsil surgery if you want good results. It's been shown that the UPPP procedure (palate and tonsil removal) works to cure sleep apnea in only 40% of the time. Most of these failures were because of untreated tongue issues. If you have any degree of nasal congestion, that should be addressed as well.

As for the the pain involved with palate surgery, it is painful. One way of significantly lessening the pain is to use a Coblation device for the tonsils and the soft palate. Since it vaporizes soft tissues at low temperatures, it doesn't charr the tissues and it hurts much less. It's not pain-free, but much better in my experience doing this over the past 5-6 years. Take a look at my articles on sleep apnea surgery here on Medhelp.