Palate Surgery
Types of Sleep
Apnea Surgery
Why are there multiple sleep apnea surgeries?
Although many people have sought to fix snoring and sleep apnea with a single treatment, this has not been successful. There is no method that is effective for everyone. Patient and procedure-specific outcomes are highly variable. Dr. Baptista has extensive expertise in conducting a variety of palate surgeries, and he uses his experience and published research to match patients and procedures to produce the best possible results. Selecting operations and forecasting outcomes is far from flawless, but Dr. Baptista teaches on this topic around Spain and the world, promoting sleep surgery by educating patients and colleagues.
The soft palate, often known as the back of the throat, can collapse. This hinders the free movement of air through the throat.
Functional pharyngoplasty is a surgical operation that removes or restructures tissue at the back of the throat, such as:
- The uvula is the tiny protrusion at the back of the throat.
- The tonsils are two lymph nodes in the back of the throat.
- Adenoids are tissue patches located in the back of the nasal cavity.
- portion of the mouth's roof
Numerous types of palatal operations exist. Prior to treatment, the type of collapse of the airway at the level of the palate must be identified. It can also be lateral or concentric. Typically, these patterns are observed in DISE (Drug-induced sleep endoscopy).
1. Pharyngoplasty
The optimal candidates for pharyngoplasty are not significantly overweight. Most patients recover in three to four weeks and notice an improvement after two months, even though the recuperation phase can be painful.
2. Palate Surgery
The roof of the mouth (soft palate) and tonsils have a significant influence on snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. There are numerous therapy possibilities. Palate radiofrequency can be performed in the office while the patient is under local anesthesia, and it can be very beneficial for snoring and mild obstructive sleep apnea. For the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea, further soft palate surgeries, including uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (also known as UPPP or UP3), expansion sphincter pharyngoplasty, and lateral pharyngoplasty, are performed in the operating theater under general anesthesia.
There are various types of palatal surgeries:
- Traditional Uvulopalatoplasty (UPPP)
- Lateral pharyngoplasty
- Sphincter Expansion Pharyngoplasty
- Pharyngoplasty with barbs
- Uvulopalatoplasty (Laser or Cautery assisted)
Due to its unreliable scarring, the UPPP has been replaced by newer procedures that tend to open the lateral walls without the need to cut the mucosa or the muscles.
Laser or cautery-assisted uvulopalatoplasty, formerly quite popular, is now avoided due to unfavorable results and significant side effects such as throat dryness, foreign body sensation, etc.