Before discussing the Pillar method of stopping snoring, you need to understand some of the other surgical methods first and the amount of success and problems from each. There is injection snoreplasty where doctors inject tetradecyl sulfate near the uvula, the piece of flesh that dangles in the back of your throat, while the patient has a local anesthetic.
This injection creates scar tissue in the soft palate of the mouth and reduces the vibration. While the procedure isn’t that invasive, it only affects the area near the uvula.
LAUP, laser assisted uvulopalatoplasty, is also performed under local anesthetic. In this procedure, the doctor uses a laser to remove tissue on the uvula to shorten it and shrink the tissue around the uvula. While there is severe pain and as long as a 10-day recovery, the procedure doesn’t seem to show long-term success and there are often other methods far superior that have a shorter recovery time and are less invasive.
Somnoplasty is another procedure used to shrink tissue but it’s tissue in the throat. The doctor delivers radiofrequency electrical charges to the area with a need while the patient is anesthetized. In order to have the best results, the patient has to undergo several procedures to achieve it.
The uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, shortened to UPPP, also removes excess tissue in the throat. Normally the procedure involves removing not only the tonsils but also any excess tissue that is in the back of the throat. While this obviously is one of the most invasive procedures, recovery time is also the longest and pain is the greatest. There are a great many complications in addition to the pain.
The Pillar Procedure is far less invasive than any of the others are. Doctors do use a local anesthetic but often there is limited recovery time and only mild discomfort. You have the procedure in the doctor’s office.
It focuses on stopping any excess vibration of the soft palate, which causes snoring. Since the doctor doesn’t cut away tissue, the patient normally resumes all their activities after the procedure. In most cases, the patient even resumes their normal pattern of eating right away also.
How the Pillar Procedure Works.
Snoring often comes from obstructions, collapse or vibrations of the upper tissues of the air passage. These include the nasal airway, tongue, tonsils, adenoids, pharyngeal walls and the soft palate. The Pillar Procedure focuses on the soft palate.
The doctor gives the patient a local anesthetic and then inserts three to five minute polyester implants into the soft palate. The material used isn’t new. In fact, it’s been around for well over 50 years and used in medical products that doctors implant in patients. The procedure isn’t experimental either. Over 30,000 people all over the world have used a Pillar Procedure to help stop their snoring or sleep apnea.
It takes a while, but little by little the implants the doctor inserted into the palate cause it to stiffen. By make the palate stiffer, it reduces the vibration of the soft palate, one of the main reasons for snoring. While a patient may find they have mild discomfort, this is often solved with a simple aspirin or ibuprofen. Most patients notice the implants but still aren’t in enough discomfort to cease normal diet or activities.
While the snoring doesn’t stop right away, it does improve, normally within six to nine weeks. Some patients may completely stop snoring at that time while others may take as long as three months to receive the maximum benefit. There are few complications with this procedure.
However, some complications do exist, but it happens in less than one percent of the implants. Some patients feel like there is something caught in the back of their throat, but normally that feeling goes away. Others report that discomfort, this occurs from extrusion. Extrusion occurs when a piece of the implant breaks through the skin. This normally occurs if the doctor implanted the material too deep or too shallow.
When this happens, the doctor simply removes the implant and then put in a new one. Other complications can occur but are rare. The patient may have a sore, scratchy throat, have some swelling of the mucous membranes, get an infection, have an allergic reaction to the material the doctor implanted, experience the implant moving to another location in the body or have a voice or taste change.
Not everyone is a candidate for this type of procedure. Before your doctor will consider the Pillar Procedure, he’ll need to consider all factors. Your height must be considered as well as your weight, the size of your tongue, tonsils, neck and uvula. Other procedures may work better for you if the problem lies elsewhere beyond the soft palate.
Those that have had the procedure report significant improvement in their snoring intensity and episodes of apnea when they had the Pillar Procedure. Bed partners noted they were pleased with the change in over 80 percent of the cases. Because it caused the snoring to cease, and reduced incidences of sleep apnea, most of the patients reported feeling less sleepy during the day.
Snoring can come from many different problems so you can’t just ask the doctor for the procedure. You must first qualify for the device. If your snoring comes from other sources, the Pillar Procedure isn’t for you. People with a short soft palate can’t use the procedure and those under 18 can’t either.
The Pillar Procedure won’t work completely for those that have a problem with their tongue falling to the back of their throat and blocking the airway. Some people find that using both the dental devices that jut the jaw forward or block the tongue from dropping in addition to the Pillar Procedure stops all episodes of apnea and reduces or eliminates all snoring.
While using both devices may seem cumbersome, it’s far better than using a CPAP machine for the rest of your life, and frequently, over the long haul, for less expensive.