Coblation tongue surgery

[Gabby]

On the news the other night they showed a short segment about a 'breakthrough' for people suffering with sleep apnea, this new non invasive operation called Coblation surgery. It was more like an advert for a private surgeon, if you ask me.

Anyway, just thought I would run it by my knowledgable friends and see what your take on it is, thanks.

[me50]

i don't know anything about it.

[trish6hundred]

Hi Gabby,
I'm not sure I've heard of that surgery.
Usually, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Hang in there for more responses to your post.

[Gabby]

This is what I found on the website of the person the news article was about:

Coblation Tongue Surgery is a means of causing a reduction in the size of the tongue so that it may cause less collapse into your airway at night and hence, improve your snoring and sleep apnoea. If Mr Burgess has found significant tongue base collapse into your upper airway, he may suggest that Coblation Tongue Surgery has a role in the treatment of your sleep disordered breathing.
The procedure is a fast, effective, easily tolerated technique with most patients having minimal side-effects. The procedure is generally performed under a general anaesthetic where a small probe is placed into the posterior 2/3rds of the tongue in the midline and other areas in the rear of the tongue, to cause shrinkage and tightening of the tongue.

Placement of the wand is designed to cause maximal improvement in the size of the tongue with minimal side-effects.
The Coblation process, using a plasma wand, is designed to cause a gentle shrinkage of the deep musculature and connective tissue of the tongue whilst leaving the surface intact and causing minimal discomfort. Each placement of the probe into the depth of the tongue will cause a channel of shrinkage of the tongue musculature, which over the next 4 to 6 weeks will gradually cause the tongue, itself, to shrink down in size and continue to improve snoring and sleep apnoea.
Visible and permanent reduction in tongue size has been measured to occur in this procedure with minimal post-operative discomfort and significant improvement in snoring and sleep disordered breathing.

WHAT IS COBLATION?

Coblation is an advanced technique that quickly and effectively removes and shrinks soft tissue inside the tongue using gentle radiofrequency energy and natural saline. Coblation is a non-heated driven process so that the surrounding healthy tissue, on the surface of the tongue, is preserved allowing a fast and easy recovery.

[Gabby]

Actually, I think I will stick with my machine. I would only consider an operation if it had a very high success rate. Somehow I don't think this one is going to.

[JJJ]

I neither believe nor disbelieve. Some science might improve my belief:

What was the average AHI before vs. after?

What was the composition of the group this was performed on? Numbers?

What was the tongue size before vs. after? For different areas of the tongue?

And I will probably have more questions after I think about it a bit more.

[justMongo]

A friend of mine who lives in Nevada had this done.
He was living in Palo Alto CA at the time. Had an at home sleep study.
They wired him up and sent him home with a recorder.

At the time, I think it helped. He has since gained weight; and I think he needs to get another study and start Papping.

[JJJ]

A friend of mine who lives in Nevada had this done.
He was living in Palo Alto CA at the time. Had an at home sleep study.
They wired him up and sent him home with a recorder.
At the time, I think it helped. He has since gained weight; and I think he needs to get another study and start Papping.

Thanks for the anecdotal evidence. I still want to see some hard science.

[JimZZZ]

Just so it doesn't move around and start reducing the size of other things...say the brain for instance...

[SleepWrangler]

What was the average AHI before vs. after?

Found this using google "Coblation surgery apnea".

From NiH Modified uvulopalatopharyngoplasty and coblation channeling of the tongue for obstructive sleep apnea: a multi-centre Australian trial.

Abstract

STUDY OBJECTIVES:
To investigate the surgical outcomes and efficacy of modified uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (mod UPPP) and Coblation channelling of the tongue (CCT) as a treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

METHODS:
Adult patients with simple snoring or obstructive sleep apnea were treated with combined modified UPPP, bilateral tonsillectomy, and CCT (N = 48). Full polysomnography was performed preoperatively and 3 months postoperatively. Postoperative clinical assessment, sleep questionnaires, and patient demographics including body mass index were compared to preoperative data. All polysomnograms were re-scored to AASM recommended criteria by 2 sleep professionals.

RESULTS:
The preoperative AHI (median and interquartile range) of 23.1 (10.4 to 36.6) was lowered to a postoperative AHI of 5.6 (1.9 to 10.4) (p < 0.05). The Epworth Sleepiness Scale score fell from 10.5 (5.5 to 13.5) to 5.0 (3.09 to 9.5) (p < 0.05). Morbidity of the surgery was low, with no long-term complications recorded.

CONCLUSIONS:
Modified UPPP combined with CCT is a highly efficacious intervention for OSA with minimal morbidity. It should be considered for individuals who fail or are intolerant of CPAP or other medical devices.