Somnoplasty Effectiveness: What Is The Evidence?

Somnoplasty is undoubtedly one of the most talked about procedures for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), snoring, and several other sleep disorders

Somnoplasty is essentially a method of providing heat treatment to the soft palate. During the procedure, small radiofrequency electrodes are inserted into the soft palate, as well as the back of tongue. This heat results in coagulation of relevant tissues, which over time reduces the volume of the tissues that have been causing obstruction to normal breathing.

Chances are you already know some of the basics of this procedure, also called RFTVR (radio frequency tissue volume reduction). But much more important than what is involved in the procedure is somnoplasty effectiveness. How precise is the procedure? Will it be beneficial in treating your specific condition? What kind of complications can you expect, even though much has been said and written about somnoplasty effectiveness?

Somnoplasty Effectiveness: Results from Around the Web

While the most authentic information about somnoplasty effectiveness is revealed through reports of clinical trials, not many of us are comfortable reading through such complicated analysis and data.

Therefore, to know more about somnoplasty effectiveness it’s best to read extracts of clinical studies published in reliable medical journals or some trustworthy websites.

Here is some feedback regarding somnoplasty effectiveness taken from some authority websites that can throw more light on its effectiveness and success rate:

• According to a study entitled “Radiofrequency tissue volume reduction: multilesion vs. single lesion treatments for snoring” published in the journal Archives of Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery, somnoplasty effectiveness increases with multiple procedures, with an effectiveness of up to 61%.

• Many reports confirm that while somnoplasty effectiveness on a long term basis has not yet been proven for curing snoring, early results are positive and encouraging.

• According to the original brochure available from the inventors of the somnoplasty procedure, in a study comprising 13 somnoplasty treatments it was shown to:

• Demonstrate a 85.3% success rate for up to two treatments
• Reduce the mean snoring index by 60.6%
• Reduce the mean Epworth Sleepiness Score by 37.5%

• There was a French study done in 2002 involving 29 patients who had a maximum of 3 somnoplasty sessions. It was seen that mean snoring level decreased significantly from 8.6 (+/- 1.3) to 3.3 (+/- 2.5) on a visual analogue scale (0-10). However there was no significant decrease of daytime sleepiness.

• You might be interested to know that RDI (Respiratory Disturbance Index) is the primary measure of somnoplasty effectiveness. In a study led by Karl Hormann, MD (University Hospital, Mannheim, Germany) involving 40 tongue-based tissue reductions, it was seen that after two sessions: 13 patients (65%) showed improvement in their OSAS, with nine of these patients (45%) being cured (defined in the study as a reduction of RDI by greater than 50% and to a level of less than 20/hour). However all sleep apnea cases do not involve enlarged tongue base and these results are not relevant for all cases of OSA.

• Finally, some websites claim that the procedure has been found to be effective in alleviating some cases of obstructive sleep apnea.