If your sleep study shows you snore but don’t have significant sleep apnea, the goal of treatment is to reduce the volume. In this video, ENT surgeon Dr John Charles Hodge explains why traditional palate surgery is often overkill for snoring, and the gentler procedure he offers instead.
When is snoring surgery an option?
Snoring surgery is considered when a sleep study confirms you don’t have significant obstructive sleep apnea. In that case treatment is driven by what matters to you, which is usually reducing how loud the snoring is.
Key points from the video
- The aim is volume reduction. For simple snoring, surgery aims to reduce volume. Women and children in particular often also wake feeling more refreshed.
- Traditional surgery can be overkill. The standard palate operation, a UPPP (uvulopalatopharyngoplasty), is a major procedure and more than most snorers need.
- A bigger, stiffer airway. Dr Hodge offers a palatal stiffening procedure that uses a plasma device to make three small incisions in the palate, without removing tissue. As it heals the airway expands, and the palate is also stiffened.
- Results and recovery. The full effect takes about three months, and it is around 75 to 80% successful in reducing snoring volume. Most people need about a week off work and far fewer strong painkillers than after a UPPP.
- Little effect on swallowing. Most people report normal swallowing by two weeks, with a few taking four to six weeks.
Video transcript
Hi, I’m John Charles. I’m an ear, nose and throat doctor, and I’m going to talk to you today about the surgical options for snoring.
There are lots of different options for snoring. What snoring essentially means is that, based on the sleep study, you don’t have significant obstructive sleep apnea. So the basis of treatment is really patient-driven factors, and essentially for snoring that means volume reduction. You may also get some benefits from a sleep quality point of view, but in men that’s rarer. Certainly in women and children, if you treat snoring, they’ll often wake feeling more refreshed.
The standard operation on the palate, which I’ve talked about in other videos, the UP3 or uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, is absolutely brutal, and it’s overkill for someone who’s just trying to reduce their volume. So I do an alternative operation, a palatal stiffening procedure.
The cornerstone of good treatment for snoring, obstructive sleep apnea, or a narrowed airway that’s turbulent is that you’ve got to make the airway bigger and you’ve got to make it stiffer. This procedure does that. I use a plasma device to make three incisions in the palate. I’m not taking anything out, and as it heals, it expands. So that’s the first key. Then I can also stiffen the palate, and I do that by using the plasma as a channelling device, again going through the same wounds I’ve used. It basically stiffens the palate.
Now, the overall effect takes about three months. It’s about 75 to 80% successful for snorers in reducing the volume, so that everyone’s happy in the bedroom. The main advantage is that it’s a much quicker recovery than the traditional UP3, so maybe a week off work. You might take six strong painkillers versus 60 strong painkillers for the UP3.
It doesn’t do much harm with regards to functional outcome. Most people at two weeks, when you say to them, “How’s your swallow?”, will say, “Yeah, it’s completely normal.” You get a few stragglers, but that only takes four, five, six weeks.
So it’s a good surgical option. It doesn’t do you much harm, it’s not as brutal as the traditional options, and it’s certainly worth discussing.
Talk to Dr Hodge about snoring
If snoring is affecting your sleep or your partner’s, and you’d like to discuss your options, book an appointment or get in touch with the rooms.
This information is general in nature and is not a substitute for personalised medical advice. Please speak with your GP or specialist about your individual situation.