Treatment for Sleep Apnea

A physician such as an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) doctor is the best person to advise the best combination of treatments for a person who suffers from sleep apnea. Self-diagnosis and treatment is not advisable.

For patients with mild sleep apnea, the physician may suggest behavioral therapy. This could involve changes like quitting smoking, alcohol, change of sleeping positions, changes in sleeping habits and even losing weight. If these do not work, then it is possible that the apnea would be considered moderate to severe. The need for interventional therapy may come in at this point of time.

The different kinds of therapies for OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea) are as follows:

1. CPAP: Continuous Positive Air Pressure. This treatment is preferred for patients suffering from mild to sever apnea. The CPAP machine helps in maintaining a smooth airflow between the nose, throat and the mouth.
2. Use of oral appliances: These appliances also known as dental devices are effective in treating people who have mild to moderate sleep apnea and who are non- obese. These appliances help in keeping the airway open either by pushing the lower jaw forward, by preventing the tongue from falling back at the airway or by combining both ways.
3. Surgery: the goal of surgery as a treatment is to remove excess tissue from the nose or from the throat. Since these are the tissues that obstruct airflow and lead a patient to snore, surgery is considered to be effective in patients having severe sleep apnea.

Types of surgery include:

a. Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty or UUUP: In this procedure the doctor removes excess tissues from the back of the mouth and the top of the throat. The tonsils and the adenoids are removed too.
b. Laser Assisted Uvulopalatoplasty or LAUP: Using a laser beam to shorten the uvula and surrounding soft tissue.
c. Somnoplasty: Using radio waves to lessen tissue in nasal passages, uvula, palate and other soft tissues and reduce the volume of the base of the tongue.
d.. Maxillomandibbular advancement: In this process, the upper and the lower jaw are moved forward from the rest of the facial bones. This helps in increasing the space behind tongue and soft palate reducing the obstruction.
e. Tracheostomy: If all other treatments fail to work, then the surgeon uses this procedure to make an opening in the neck and inserts a metal or plastic tube through which a person can breathe.

Similarly, there are several treatments for CSA (Central Sleep Apnea).

1. Associated medical problems: The treatment of CSA begins treating the other conditions of the body like heart and neuromuscular disorders.
2. Oxygen supplement: sometimes supplementary oxygen is used while a person sleeps.
3. CPAP: This is used as in the same manner for OSA
4. BiPAP: which means Bi level positive air pressure, unlike CPAP, builds to a higher pressure while the patient inhales and decreases to a lower pressure when they exhale.
5. Adaptive Servo Ventilation (ASV): This is a more advanced form of treatment for CSA as well as with patients having Complex Sleep Apnea. The device used in this adapts to a person's normal breathing pattern and stores the information in a inbuilt computer. During a person's sleep, the machine uses pressure to normalize the breathing and thereby prevents pauses in breathing.
.