Snoring Surgery Cost

Does your spouse snore heavily? A majority of people snore lightly or may snore loudly occasionally. While light snoring is not really a cause of concern, loud and persistent snoring can have an adverse impact on one's personal life. The person who snores might be in deep slumber, but the one sleeping next to him/her would be struggling to sleep due to loud snoring. The other person might even feel fatigued due to sleep deprivation. If your spouse snores heavily, you can ask him/her to try certain home remedies and make some lifestyle changes to reduce snoring. If these methods don't help, one can undergo a surgery. Scroll down to find information on surgical treatment for snoring and snoring surgery cost.

Causes of Snoring

Snoring is caused due to constricted or partially obstructed airway. When you advance from a light sleep to a deep sleep, the muscles in the soft palate, tongue and throat relax. When the airway becomes narrow, the airflow becomes even more forceful and that in turn, increases the tissue in the throat to vibrate. As the vibration increase, the noises gets louder. Other factors that can obstruct the airway during sleep are obesity, nasal problems, excessive consumption of alcohol before sleeping and sleep apnea. Snoring could also be caused due to the anatomy of the mouth. Do you have an elongated uvula? Well, I am talking about the triangular piece of tissue that hangs from the soft palate. Those who have an elongated uvula, a low, thick soft palate or enlarged tonsils are more likely to snore loudly.

Surgery for Snoring

Surgery should be resorted to only if home remedies haven't really worked for you. One of the surgical procedures is known as Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty or UPPP. Under this procedure, the doctors expand the width of the oropharynx. The excess tissues of the uvula, pharyngeal arches, tonsils or the soft palate are removed to prevent obstruction of airway. Laser-Assisted Uvuloplatoplasty (LAUP) is a similar procedure, but it doesn't involve the removal of the tonsils. Like UPPP, LAUP is also performed under general anesthetic. The surgical procedure is carried out in multiple sessions. Though the post-operative pain is severe, taking into account the cost of surgery, LAUP is viable. Another procedure is Radio-frequency tissue ablation. It is also called somnoplasty. Under this procedure, the redundant tissue of the palate is shrunk. The throat tissues are shrunk using a needle electrode that emits energy waves. Though this procedure requires several sessions, it is slightly less painful.

Cost of Snoring Surgery

If snoring has become a cause of serious concern for you and the non-surgical methods haven't been of much assistance, you can undergo a surgery. A UPPP surgery will cost you around $5500, whereas for LAUP and somnoplasty, you will have to shell out around $1500. As far as success rate is concerned, somnoplasty seems to be a better procedure than UPPP and LAUP. Uvulopalatoplasy is another procedure which is economical at around $500, but since the long-term effects are still not known, therefore, make sure you ask the doctor whether it is safe to undergo this snoring surgery.

Those who snore heavily can either use an anti-snoring chin strap or a mouthpiece or change their sleeping posture. Surgery may be recommended if one snores very heavily on a daily basis. If you are planning to undergo this surgery, it would be advisable to find out all about the side effects and possible complications. Since the long-term effects of these procedures are not known as yet, it would be a better idea to go for them only if the non-surgical methods aren't helping.