Love Your CPAP?
A new minimally invasive procedure may give you freedom from the mask.
If you or your spouse suffers from the disruptive snoring and gasping of sleep apnea, you already know that lack of sleep can be detrimental to your health. Hypertension, stroke, lack of concentration, and even risk of job loss are all linked to this condition.
For many, the commonly prescribed CPAP machine is virtually intolerable (not to mention does no favors for bedroom romance), and traditional surgical procedures are highly invasive with inconsistent results.
Now, patients can achieve relief by having a three-minute, in-office, minimally invasive procedure performed with minimal sedation.
Developed as an improvement to submucosal radiofrequency ablation of the tongue by board-certified otolaryngologist Dr. David Dillard of the Sleep and Sinus Centers of Georgia, the VOAT™ procedure gently warms and shrinks the back of the tongue. Reduced in size, the tongue, a common culprit in sleep apnea, no longer falls into the windpipe to block nighttime breathing.
No cutting. No tissue removal. No lengthy recovery.
“We’ve been performing the VOAT procedure for about eight years, and we’re seeing dramatic, durable results,” says Dr. Dillard. “In a recent study, three out of four patients who underwent VOAT treatments no longer qualifed for CPAP. “It’s proving to be a very effective approach.”
Covered by most insurance.
Permanent Sinus Relief
Those who suffer from chronic sinusitis know the miserable symptoms all too well: headaches, congestion, facial pain, pressure around the eyes. Though antibiotics and nasal sprays can help, they don’t treat the underlying cause, nor do they prevent infections from recurring - sometimes multiple times a year.
Based on the science of angioplasty, balloon sinuplasty is a minimally invasive, in-office procedure that uses a tiny balloon tipped catheter to open the sinus cavity and restore natural sinus drainage. The procedure lasts just 30-45 minutes, with patients returning to work the next day and feeling relief almost immediately.
Covered by most insurance.