tongue surgery

ally1 · Post by **ally1** » Tue Jan 18, 2005 12:52 pm

My sister has suffered from sleep apnea for about 2 years and her doctor has recommended she have surgery to remove excess skin from her tongue and uvula. I have researched the details as much as I can to see what it all entails as well as her recovery period as she lives out of town and I am elected to go care for her.

Anyhow, can anyone out there tell me if this is really necessary? I think this is kind of drastic! I understand that I am not the doctor, but I can't seem to find anyone who HAS been through the surgery to even find out the success rate. Please could someone tell me the pros and cons? My sister is overweight and her oxygen level has dipped down into the 50% level. I think if she lost the weight, she wouldn't need the surgery, but I understand the doctors say you can't lose the weight if your oxygen levels are so low.....a vicious cycle...is it even true? ...please advise.

wading thru the muck! · Post by **wading thru the muck!** » Tue Jan 18, 2005 12:58 pm

ally1,

Is your sister currently on cpap therapy (machine to air-splint her breathing)? If not this is much less drastic and may help her to feel better enough to lose some weight. You're right about the vicious cycle thing. i don't know much about the surgery, but have read that it is not that succesful and even if it is, that may only be short lived.

If you have any further questions please post them.

ally1 · Post by **ally1** » Tue Jan 18, 2005 1:09 pm

Yes, she is using the cpap therapy machine, and I don't know to what extent. I do know she is extremely claustrophobic and may or may not give it her all.

AS for the surgery, her doctor told her she will die without the surgery. I sure don't want to be the one to tell her NOT to have it, but it sure doesn't make sense if there are not others out there who have had tremendous success. But then again, I suppose if there had been tremendous success stories, there would be no reason to continue the cpap therapy.....

Thanks for your comments...

wading thru the muck! · Post by **wading thru the muck!** » Tue Jan 18, 2005 1:24 pm

Hi ally1,

Sounds like your sister is in a desperate situation. Good of you to be willing to help her though this. As far as her cpap usage, if you can try to get an honest answer from her about how much she is actually using it. It may be that her Doc's coment may be due to the fact that she refuses to use the cpap enough to improve her condition. As far as the claustrophobia, I'll attach a picture below of a nasal pillow interface (mask) that she could use that provides a much less confining experience. It may help her to use the machine more. Most likely even if she has the surgery she will still need to use the machine afterwards, so if you can help her get settled with it, that would be a good thing.

Keep working on her. It sometimes takes small steps to get down the long road to better health. It'll be easier for her holding your hand.

Puritan Bennett Breeze
Nasal Pillow Interface