Obstructive sleep apnea has wide-ranging effects on your quality of life as well as your health. This condition, in which patients repeatedly stop breathing for brief episodes during sleep, interferes with your body’s ability to rest. Furthermore, sleep apnea appears to have a correlation with very serious health problems like high blood pressure and stroke.
Understandably, patients who believe that they may have sleep apnea often seek treatment for the condition. When that treatment is successful, the patient benefits from feeling more well rested and getting a health boost, as well.
Patients, who have noticed health signs of sleep apnea, like morning headaches or a sleep apnea surgeon or another sleep specialist to get a conclusive diagnosis should evaluate daytime drowsiness. This is the first step toward successful treatment and relief from sleep apnea symptoms.
Take Dr. Wolford's Airway Questionnaire for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).
Additionally, the sleep apnea surgeon must determine what structural abnormalities are causing the apnea. Obstructions in the nasal passages can cause patients to have difficulty breathing during sleep, while the problem may be with the position of the jaw or excessive soft tissue at the rear of the throat in other patients. If the soft tissues are able to go slack and cover up the airway opening, that will cause pauses in breathing, too.
Many patients will initially undergo a conservative approach to sleep apnea treatment. In fact, a sleep apnea surgeon may not even need to perform an invasive procedure to give the patient relief.
If those conservative measures are not effective, however, the sleep apnea surgeon may explore other options, such as a surgical procedure to correct a congenital defect in the jaw structure or the nasal passages that may be contributing to the problem. Surgery can also be performed to address issues specifically with the soft tissues.
Patients who suffer from sleep apnea can get effective treatment. If you have questions or would like to schedule an appointment, please contact Dr. Larry Wolford's office using our online contact form or call 214-828-9115.
