Do Palatal implants help improve patient tolerance to CPAP Therapy for Sleep Apnea?
Posted in Sleep Disorders/Snoring on February 21, 2011
The Pillar implant is a type of palatal implant that is utilized to help reduce snoring in patients. The implant works by stiffening the soft palate. The implant induces an inflammatory reaction, which creates scar tissue within the muscles of the soft palate and theoretically helps reduce the amount of vibratory movement of the soft palate, as well as the amount of collapse of the soft palate that occurs during sleep and that potentially contributes to sleep disordered breathing and snoring. Some studies have shown the palatal implant to have some degree of effectiveness in both snoring and sleep apnea, though the overall results are very inconclusive.
A new study in the February 2011 issue of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, looks at the effect of the pillar implant on CPAP pressure and compliance in regards to sleep apnea therapy. CPAP, or continuous positive airway pressure, is a type of therapy in which pressurized areas are delivered by a mask at night to help keep the airways open and prevent collapse and the obstruction of the airway during sleep. The most common reason that patients do not tolerate the CPAP is that high pressures are often needed to keep the airway open and this can often be very uncomfortable. The authors of this article postulated that the pillar implants by reducing the flutter of the soft palate, would thereby decrease the amount of collapse in the airway and the amount of positive airway pressure needed to keep the airway open. What was found in this study, however, was that the pillar implants did not significantly reduce CPAP pressure or increase CPAP compliance when compared to a control or placebo procedure. This indicates that the pillar implants do not necessarily help with patients tolerating the CPAP, however they may have some benefit in snoring and sleep apnea. Again, those results have not been conclusively proven to be true.
Sincerely,
Nilesh N. Shah, M.D.