Yale physicians have developed a new technique to treat snoring and sleep apnea using radio frequencies.
The technology, called somnoplasty, shrinks extra tissues in the nose and throat.
"We've found this new approach effective in minimizing snoring and upper airway obstruction, which affects millions of Americans," says Douglas Ross, associate professor of otolaryngology. These techniques can be done on an outpatient basis, he adds.
Snoring occurs when floppy tissue in the back of the nose and throat airway relaxes during sleep and vibrates. Most snoring is caused by an enlarged soft palate and uvula at the back of the mouth. Somnoplasty treats snoring by reducing the volume of the soft palate tissue and stiffening it. Since snoring is primarily caused by the vibrating of the soft palate and uvula, this has the effect of reducing or eliminating snoring.
In addition to somnoplasty, physicians also use conventional treatments at the Yale Center for Sleep Medicine. Directed by Dr. Vahid Mohsenin, the center provides diagnosis as well as treatments for sleep-related breathing disorders such as snoring and sleep apnea.
Yale physicians also use somnoplasty to treat obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, a disorder that causes people to stop breathing temporarily during sleep for 10 seconds or more at least five times per hour of sleep. Sleep apnea mainly affects middle-aged, overweight males. Symptoms include frequent and regular episodes of obstructed breathing during sleep. Somnoplasty is used to shrink the upper airway, including the base of the tongue, that is the source of the obstruction. Ross points out that somnoplasty may not be useful to treat apnea in some patients.
"In sleep, the body's muscles relax, causing excess tissue to collapse into the upper airway -- back of the mouth, nose and throat -- and block breathing," says Ross. "When breathing is obstructed, the body reacts by waking enough to start breathing again. These arousals can occur hundreds of times each night. The person is never fully awakened by the loud snoring, choking and gasping for air that is typically associated with obstructive sleep apnea."
Ross says somnoplasty can also reduce nasal congestion and stuffiness by reducing the volume of the tissue of the nasal turbinate, a small bone in the nasal passage. When turbinates are enlarged, the tissue obstructs the nasal airways, causing stuffiness and chronic nasal congestion.
Somnoplasty cuts down on the bleeding and pain associated with other types of treatments and is performed in less than 10 minutes under local anesthesia in a doctor's office. Ross says there is no discomfort during the procedure and the somnoplasty device generates low-level radio frequency that is closely controlled to protect the delicate surface of the tissue. After three to six weeks, the treated tissue is naturally "sloughed off" and reabsorbed by the body, and the tissue volume is reduced.
"The treatment also makes the tissue contract and stiffen, which lifts up the uvula," says Ross. "The reduction in snoring is due to both the reduction and tightening of the obstructive tissue."
-- By Karen Peart
T H I S
Bulletin Home
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
Dean David Kessler awarded Public Welfare Medal for leadership on health issues
Psychologist Karen Wynn cited for pioneering study . . .
New director of Beinecke Library named
Fossil sheds light on rare branch of birds' evolutionary tree
Yale-funded center helps bring start-up companies to city
Lilly Endowment grants will help fund initiatives at the Divinity School, ISM
Directors, actors take part in symposium on Irish film
'A Yale Album' captures century of history in photos
Benson reappointed to second term as dean of School of Art
Talks trace the evolution of the 'democratic soul'
Nuns' library donation reveals new aspects of artist's life
Beinecke exhibit explores 18th-century views of theater
MEDICAL SCHOOL NEWSNew technique silences sounds of snoring
Yale group to assist Defense Dept. in health care mission
Researchers now have both 'lock' and 'key' that can open door . . .
Mt. Everest climb offered 'extreme' test for long-distance monitors
Projections thinner than a hair believed to play major role . . .
Dr. Dorothy Horstmann dies -- key in development of polio vaccine
Former faculty member Dr. William E. Bloomer dies
Paula Armbruster honored for her work with children
Illustrator is inaugural Theodore Fellow
Exhibition will feature paintings by Gelernter
Historian David Kennedy to discuss World War II
Grant supports nurse's effort to prevent diabetes in teens
ITS announces appointment of new CMI director
Art gallery appoints its first deputy director
Musicologist Claude Palisca, scholar of Baroque opera, dies
|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events|In the News|Bulletin Board
Yale Scoreboard|Classified Ads|Search Archives|Production Schedule
Bulletin Staff|Public Affairs Home|News Releases|
E-Mail Us|Yale Home Page