Treatment

What is the treatment?
The recommended treatment depends on the clinical status of each patient and includes:
-Loose weight
-Avoid alcoholic beverages (alcohol depresses breathing by making more frequent and severe apnoeas)
-Avoiding sleeping pills (for the vast majority exacerbates sleep apnea);
-Use medications to relieve nasal congestion, if any;
-Sleep-side (the apnoeas are more frequent when lying on back)

- Nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the application of a nose mask at night. This unit has a continuous air pressure forcing air to pass through the airway, leaving the apnea occurs and allowing the individual to breathe normally without sleep is disturbed.

Intraoral appliances, which allow a better opening of the upper airway with anterior projection of the jaw, tongue and soft palate.

-Surgical procedures to correct physical changes that affect breathing during the night. These include enlarged tonsils or adenoids, nasal polyps, a deviated nasal septum, and malformations of the jaw or soft palate.

The uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) and laser-assisted uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPL) are techniques in which the surgeon removes excess tissue at the back of the throat (uvula and part of the soft palate) that may be blocking the airway during sleep. In addition to these surgeries, in the most serious cases it may be necessary to resort to other surgical techniques more differentiated as the maxillomandibular and mental. In other extreme cases, with a very severe sleep apnea may be necessary to perform a tracheotomy.

Maxillomandibular advancement surgery with genioplasty, and total arthroplasty of TMJ right to extend the pharyngeal space.