Tongue-tying silences the snores

Surgeons are testing a new device which affectively pulls the tongue closer to the jaw bone, in a move to find lasting solution to sleep apnoea

TONGUE TYING may be the answer to snoring and sleep apnoea.

Surgeons are now testing a new device which effectively pulls the tongue closer to the jaw bone, and opens up the airways. They say early results are promising.

It`s been estimated that as many as one in four adults in the UK are regular snorers and around three million people have sleep apnoea. This condition is linked with heart disease, and even stroke.

Other causes of sleep apnoea can include an elongated uvula

Snoring and apnoea occur when the airways effectively collapse, blocking the flow of air, in the sleep apnoea the flow can be cut off for up to ten seconds at a time. The brain then wakes the sufferer up with a loud snore. The noise is the result of the breath trying to get past the obstruction.

Other causes of sleep apnoea can include an elongated uvula, in which case treatment is to reduce it in size.

Although the tonsils and muscles in the soft palate are implicated, research shows that the tongue is the culprit in as many as 80% of cases.

In the new procedure, which takes just 15 minutes, surgeons make a tiny incision in the side of the neck and then implant a small metal anchor-shaped device, about 1mm long, in the base of the tongue in the throat. Another metal anchor is implanted into the lower jaw bone.

A thin wire connects the two anchors and a spool is turned to tighten the wire until the tongue base is moved far enough forward to make the airway bigger. The wire is then secured to the jaw bone anchor. Once in place, the anchors are invisible and according to the researchers, patients are unable to 'feel' the device in their mouth.

"Results with the first patients treated are very encouraging," Says Dr Evert Hamans, who is leading a trial of technique at the University of Antwerp Hospital in Belgium. "It may become the new standard of care when treating patients with moderate to severe sleep apnoea because it is a simple procedure and and adjustable according to patient need."

source: famous english newspaper.