Three Types Of Snoring Surgery

Occasional snoring is usually nothing to worry about. However, chronic snoring can disrupt your sleep and the sleep of your loved ones. It can even be a sign of a more troubling health condition. Fortunately, ENT specialists can diagnose the reason for your snoring and offer treatment, such as surgery, when appropriate. Here are three types of surgery that can solve your snoring problems.

1. Maxillomandibular Advancement

MMA surgery can help people who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea caused by incorrect positioning of the jaw. If the space between your upper and lower jaw is too narrow, you may struggle to get enough oxygen while you sleep. Mandibular advancement devices are a common first line of treatment that adjust the position of your jaw using mouth gear. However, some people find wearing dental devices every night troubling.

If mandibular advancement devices don't work for you or you prefer a more permanent solution, MMA surgery can help. During MMA surgery, your upper jaw, lower jaw, or both jaws will be moved into a new position. This will open your airway to solve your sleep apnea obstruction, as well as your snoring.

2. Somnoplasty

Somnoplasty is another technique that can be used to treat obstructive sleep apnea that causes snoring. Many surgeons prefer to perform this procedure when possible since it is less invasive and requires less recovery time than other surgeries. Only soft tissue is affected during somnoplasty, which means that patients can recover quickly.

Patients can remain awake throughout their somnoplasty procedure. Once local anesthesia has been administered, a surgeon uses radiofrequency to target the affected tissues of the soft palate and uvula, damaging them with heat so they will eventually be reabsorbed by the body. This surgical technique means that stitches are not required.

3. Hyoid Suspension

Sometimes, snoring can be caused by the position of a person's tongue while they sleep. People whose muscles go especially slack during sleep may find that their tongues partially blocked their airways. This can be treated through hyoid suspension surgery, which changes the position of a patient's tongue and its related anatomical structures in the mouth.

This surgery is more invasive than some other procedures since it requires tendons and ligaments to be cut and the hyoid bone to be moved. However, patients do not have to worry about voice changes or other permanent side effects since the tongue alone is affected by this procedure. For more information on snoring surgery, contact a professional near you.