EAR, NOSE & THROAT UPDATE
QUICK & EASY FIX FOR SNORING NOW AVAILABLE

By Jeffrey Raval, MD
The night sounds you remember from childhood are probably soothing—crickets and katydids when the windows were thrown open on hot summer nights. You heard things that went bump in the night and possibly frightened you. And at Christmastime when heavy snow shifted on the roof shingles, you might have mistaken the noise for reindeer hooves.

That was then. As an adult, it’s likely that your sleep is interrupted by the sounds of snoring—yours or your spouse’s.

Sixty percent of men over 40 years old snore as do 40 percent of women over 40. The incidence of snoring increases as we age. More than 90 percent of the time, the soft palate and uvula vibrate causing snoring. The remaining 10 percent snore because of a problem with their tongue or nose.

Now there’s a quick and easy fix for the 90 percent who suffer from palatal snoring problems. This simple in-office surgery takes only 10 minutes and costs only $1600. One-third of patients respond immediately; the remaining two-thirds respond within six weeks.

I’m the only Ear, Nose & Throat Doctor in Denver performing this treatment approved by the Federal Drug Administration in September.

To perform the surgery, I use dental gel to numb the soft palate before administering a local injection. Then three inserts are implanted into the soft palate where it conjoins with the hard palate. The implants extend the length of the hard palate which reduces the palate’s tendency to vibrate during sleep. Over the long term the inserts inspire scar tissue to form inside the soft palate muscle tissue further stiffening the palate and eliminating snoring.

Patients find their palate is a little sore the next day and then not noticeable at all. That’s a huge improvement over the only other treatment option available to date: laser surgery to reduce the size of the soft palate. That required two weeks to heal and the risks included nasal regurgitation (fluids backing up into the nose because the soft palate sometimes didn’t work the way it did prior to surgery, especially when drinking.)

At this point the new treatment is still considered a cosmetic surgery, not covered by insurance. But indications are that insurance companies may cover the implant treatment in the future.

If you or someone you love snores, you now have the ability to take back the night. And who knows what you might hear this holiday season!

Jeffrey Raval, MD is a graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School and did his residency and internship at the Department of Otolaryngology at Washington University Barnes Jewish Hospital. He completed his fellowship in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in the Department of Otolaryngology, is double board certified by the American Board of Facial Plastic Surgery and Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery. He is Section Head of Otolaryngology at Swedish Hospital in Englewood and is the Medical Director of Matrix Spa in Denver. His is a practicing partner at Associates of Otolaryngology with offices at Harvard Park Medical Center and in Lone Tree and volunteers at Denver Inner City Health. He can be reached at 303.744.1961.