Somnoplasty Turbinate Procedure: A Quick Guide

Nasal congestion gives you sleepless nights and you have been diagnosed with enlarged turbinates. Subsequently you have been advised to go for somnoplasty turbinate procedure. You feel a bit nervous before going into surgery and your apprehension is not uncommon. However, a lot of confusion and doubts can be cleared if you know more about not just the somnoplasty turbinate procedure but also about turbinates, their roles in breathing, and so on.

What are Turbinates and What Do They Do?

Turbinates can be visualized as shelves on the side of the nose. The main turbinates are located in the middle and the inferior. They can shrink or enlarge. They enlarge when you have a cold, a nasal infection or suffer from allergy. This enlargement can be seen through X-ray.

The biggest function of turbinates is to purify and warm the air you inhale, before it enters the lungs. Millions of cilia cover these turbinates. They protect our body against any harmful bacteria that may be inhaled by producing a bacteria-fighting enzyme called lysozyme. In short, they act as an efficient buffer for bettering the flow of air that we breathe in.

When is Somnoplasty Turbinate Surgery Necessary?

When enlarged turbinates cause nasal blockage, a surgical intervention may be necessary. Sometimes the turbinates are positioned in such a way that the middle turbinates impair sinus drainage. However the turbinates cannot be removed completely since this can cause nasal dryness, crusting and pain. So the doctors aim to reduce the blockage without removing the turbinates and the cilia.

What Happens During Somnoplasty Turbinate Surgery?

There are various ways the turbinates can be treated. One way is called a submucus resection of the turbinates where an incision is made to lift up the mucosa, another name for the turbinate skin. This is followed by removing the bone to reposition the turbinate. The second method involves scouring the turbinate either with acid or laser.

However, one of the safest and most convenient ways to treat enlarged turbinates is somnoplasty. The somnoplasty turbinate procedure is more precise and does not damage the adjoining tissues with the use of radio frequency heat energy that is used to coagulate the material under the mucosa. This procedure is done at the doctor’s clinic and is painless.

Why should I opt for Somnoplasty Turbinate Surgery?

The turbinate somnoplasty device has been developed by Somnus Medical Technologies for the treatment of chronic nasal obstruction due to enlarged turbinates. The device was cleared by the FDA in 1997.

Enlarged turbinates can cause nasal congestion that impairs normal breathing, forcing the victim to breathe through their mouth. This situation can also lead to headaches and sleep disorders like snoring and sleep apnea. Often patients use intranasal sprays or medications that carry substantial side effects. And with time, those people also grow immune to such therapy options. Therefore, they are left with no other choice other than somnoplasty turbinate surgery to treat their condition.

Done with local anesthesia, somnoplasty turbinate procedure takes less than two minutes per turbinate and is usually painless. The recovery is fast and may help you to avoid long term use of medications and nasal sprays.

The turbinate hand piece has a convenient and user-friendly ergonomic design that allows easy placement of the electrode. This design also helps the surgeon to access all the regions of the inferior turbinate.