Snoring and sleep apnoea

Snoring is due to obstruction at either one or multiple levels of your nose and throat. You may have “simple snoring” where your oxygen levels are normal or “obstructive sleep apnoea” (OSA) where you stop breathing briefly with a decrease in your oxygen levels. OSA can lead to daytime sleepiness, waking up unrefreshed, and cardiovascular events (e.g. heart attacks, high blood pressure, and strokes).

How do I know if I have OSA?

You need to have a sleep study done, which is where specialised monitoring is used to diagnose your breathing, heart rate, oxygen levels etc as you sleep overnight in a hospital bed. This is done through a referral to the respiratory sleep physicians. In certain cases a limited sleep study can be done in your own home. Dr Ooi will refer you for a sleep study if OSA is likely to be present.

How do I treat snoring?

Weight loss, sleeping position, dental appliances and other lifestyle changes are usually sufficient to manage your snoring. If these fail then surgery is an option.

Nasal – septoplasty and turbinate reduction

Throat – UPPP (uvulopalatopharyngoplasty) and/or radiofrequency tongue reduction.

What is a UPPP?

It is a procedure under general anaesthetia to remove your tonsils, part of the uvula and the redundant tissue of the soft palate. Dr Ooi uses a specialised technique to conserve and stitch your soft palate to produce a more natural appearance. The traditional technique of cutting the uvula off and squaring off your soft palate is believed to cause more globus (sensation of a lump) and swallowing difficulties. Dr Ooi uses newer techniques to minimise these problems.

What is radiofrequency tongue reduction?

It is a procedure using Coblation (a controlled non-heat driven process using radiofrequency energy and plasma to gently remove tissue) and a specialised wand to “shrink” the bulky tongue therefore creating more space for you to breathe at night. There are risks with the procedure and Dr Ooi will discuss these with you so that you can make an informed decision about your surgery.