According to the manufacturer of the Somnus device, Somnus Medical Technologies of Sunnyvale, Calif, more than 20,000 patients have already been treated by using somnoplasty. The FDA-approved procedure is used to treat heavy snoring, chronic nasal obstruction or sleep apnea. Recently, the procedure was performed to remove enlarged tonsils in adults too.

A good reason for its increasing popularity is the quick surgery time coupled with quicker recovery. Traditionally tonsillectomies are performed surgically or with a laser. It involves using general anesthesia, a painful and prolonged recovery period, and a possibility of bleeding and dehydration according to Dr. Lionel Nelson, an associate clinical professor in the surgery department at Stanford University in Palo Alto.

However performing somnoplasty for removing enlarged tonsils is a far quicker procedure with equally fast recovery time. Nelson did one such surgery after which he commented: “One of my patients was eating a sandwich two hours after the procedure and went back to work the next morning.”

Performed in less than 5 minutes while the patient is wide awake, Nelson performed the new procedure on nine adults who were suffering from enlarged tonsils. 70% shrinking of tonsil-size were reported during 8 to 12 weeks following surgery.

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This may sound incredibly simple. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ reports that according to a study published in the Archives of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, somnoplasty has been found to be an effective procedure for treating obstructive airway problems caused by enlarged tonsils.

Somnoplasty is one of the most minimally invasive outpatient procedures that are FDA-approved for the treatment of habitual snoring. The trial was led by Lionel M. Nelson, a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at Stanford University and the tonsil somnoplasty was performed using local anesthesia. Unlike conventional tonsil surgery methods (including complete removal of tonsils called tonsillectomy) that usually result in discomfort and long recovery time, somnoplasty reduced the tonsil size by an average of 71% and enhanced airway dimensions by 55%.

The successful surgery resulted in preservation of tonsil surface as well as reduce obstructed- airway problems like snoring, daytime sleepiness, irritation of the throat and difficulty in swallowing.