Somnoplasty Now a Treatment Option For Enlarged Tonsils

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.

Read the full story at http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=118139&page=1