Soft Palate - Reduce / Shrink ?

[DanOtn]

What can be done to reduce the soft palate?

I think that's my main problem. I started to notice it in my mid thirties. It seemed like it was gradually getting bigger or creeping into the roof of my mouth. What causes this?

I've read of people doing some pretty radical things. I'm not in favor of removing my Uvula for example. I did see where someone had some RF procedure. That makes more sense to me.

Any advice?

Thanks!

[Julie]

There are a lot of different surgeries that address the palate, uvula, the whole area, but none that seem guaranteed to do the job consistently or long term. Which is why everyone ends up back on Cpap (at least the majority seem to). The surgery sounds like it should make sense, but for whatever reasons, cannot be counted on as being 'the answer'.

[DanOtn]

I would imagine that this is a pretty common problem. I thought this would be a good site to hear about peoples experiences. I haven't found much on this issue yet though.

I'm curious, what causes the problem in the first place?

[DanOtn]

Soft Palate Affects Snoring
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQknhrhtV68

[DanOtn]

Pillar Procedure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd57zCZFKv0

I need to find out more about Coblation.

[DanOtn]

Another good video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk8c4rNrQ-A

[secret agent girl]

.

[DanOtn]

Well... I'm not quite ready to accept that...



: )

[roster]

I'm curious, what causes the problem in the first place?

The most common cause of obstructive sleep apnea is a jaw that is underdeveloped. It is too narrow side to side and/or front to back. The jaw does not develop well during childhood because we don't breastfeed enough and we eat a soft diet that requires little chewing. The jaw skeleton needs exercise during the formative years to develop properly and it is not getting enough exercise.

Now a narrow jaw means a narrow airway and a prospensity for the airway to collapse when the muscles relax naturally during sleep.

UPPP surgery has a very difficult recovery and for many it is ineffective and brings with it very troublesome side effects which are permanent.

You state that you think your soft palate is the problem but you are just guessing and could be badly wrong. If you want to consider surgery find a surgeon who goes beyond the soft palate and addresses the entire upper airway from the nose to the tongue. The surgeon should make a total evaluation and give you an estimate of the likelihood of success and a preview of what the recovery would be like and what unwanted permanent side effects you might have. There are not many surgeons that are competent at doing this. I can recommend only one, Dr. Steven Park, ENT, NYC, http://doctorstevenpark.com/my-practice .

And even Dr. Park is very likely to tell you to make a commitment to CPAP and come back to him only after a fervent lengthy effort with CPAP fails.

BTW, if you read all the articles on Park's website you can get a pretty good education about sleep-disordered breathing.

[DanOtn]

You state that you think your soft palate is the problem but you are just guessing and could be badly wrong.

I appreciate the concern about rushing into surgery. I'm not anxious to do that, but the soft pallet observation is just that... an observation. It's not a guess.

Anyway, I'll continue to look into it. Thank you very much for the feedback!!!