Coblation treatment for snoring

What causes snoring?

Snoring affects millions of people, and is not just affecting the people who are sleeping in the same room with snorer, but also a snorer itself! Habitual snorers can be at risk for serious health problems. Obstructive sleep apnea is an illness that is often associated with chronic snoring, and is characterized by long interruptions of breathing during sleep that are caused by partial or total obstruction or blockage of the airway. Prolonged suffering from obstructed sleep apnea will result in higher blood pressure and may cause enlargement of the heart, with higher risks of heart attack and stroke. Furthermore, it has recently been suggested that simple snoring, even without concomitant obstructive sleep apnea, may be harmful in and of itself causing carotid artery atherosclerosis.

The cause of snoring is the physical obstruction of the flow of air through the mouth and nose. The walls of the throat vibrate during breathing, resulting in the distinctive sounds of snoring. Air flow can be obstructed by a combination of factors, including: obstructed nasal airways, poor muscle tone in the throat and tongue, bulky throat tissue, and long soft palate and/or uvula (the dangling tissue in back of the mouth) – one of the most common causes of snoring.

Coblation Treatments of Uvula and Soft Palate

If the cause of your snoring is long soft palate and/or uvula, you may be helped by coblation treatment. Coblation treatment works by inserting a needle like probe into the soft palate and heating it with radiofrequency waves, performing "debulking" which will result in overall reduction in the size and thickness of the soft palate and even the uvula. Over a 6-week period, shrinkage and moderate scarring will occur in treated areas, which will stiffen the palate making it less prone to vibration thereby reducing a person's snore.

Procedure is performed in the office under local anesthesia, and immediately thereafter you can go home! You will be seated, the back of your mouth will be numbed up with a local anesthetic, and a small injection of the soft palate with lidocaine will be performed. After 10 minutes to allow adequate anesthetic effect, a coblation probe will be inserted, and your soft palate will be treated on different spots for about 10 seconds. And this is it! Couple of days thereafter you may feel some pain in your mouth (similar to when you burn your mouth with the hot soup), which can easily be treated with painkillers. Also, you should gently rinse your mouth with saline after every meal for about 1 week to help keep the wound area clean.

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Recognition and Treatment of Allergic Rhinitis in Children With Asthma Improves Asthma Control!

Asthma and allergic rhinitis are the two most common chronic disorders in childhood and adolescence. Asthma is a chronic disease of lungs, characterized by inflammation, airway obstruction and hypersensitivity of the airway. With asthma, airways are “twitchy” and become inflamed when they meet certain stimuli as allergens or cold air. When a kid or adult has an asthma attack, spasms of the bronchial muscles, along with the swelling of the mucous membrane lining the bronchi and excessive production of mucus, contribute to airway narrowing. Consequently, increased airway resistance causes wheezing and shortness of breath.

Allergic rhinitis or hay fever is triggered by allergens such as pollen or dust mites that induce release of histamines by the body’s immune cells. Current prevalence rates of allergic rhinitis in countries with a Western lifestyle may be as high as 40%! With allergic rhinitis, people may feel a constant runny nose, ongoing sneezing, swollen nasal passages, excessive mucus, weepy eyes, and a scratchy palate and throat. A cough may result from postnasal drip. Also, blocked ears and fluid in the ears because of blocked Eustachian tubes may be two common results of allergic rhinitis.

It has long been recognized that same patients may suffer from both allergic rhinitis and asthma, due to similar mechanisms of disease. Actually, surveys have shown that approximately 60–80% of children with asthma also have symptoms of allergic rhinitis!

A recent study by de Groot and coworkers tried to examine the prevalence of allergic rhinitis in children with asthma, and the impact of the treatment of this nasal disease on asthma control.

A total of 76% patients with asthma had symptoms of allergic rhinitis, 92% of which reported complaints during the last 12 months. Based on their results, authors concluded that allergic rhinitis in asthma patients is frequently unrecognized and undertreated. Recognition of allergic rhinitis in children with asthma and adequate treatment with nasal corticosteroid sprays are likely to improve control of asthma symptoms as well. This is particularly relevant in children with difficult-to-treat asthma.

REF: Eric P de Groot, et al. Thorax. 2012;67(7):582-587.