‘4 in 1’ surgery to cure snoring

Mr. Hai, who has been snoring for more than two years, is often tired, has a headache, and a sore throat when he wakes up. Recently, he had difficulty breathing, suffocation while sleeping, difficulty swallowing, and a persistent stuffy nose. He went to Tam Anh General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City for an examination.

On July 2, Master, Doctor, CKI Pham Thi Phuong, ENT Center, said that Mr. Hai had grade 4 tonsillitis, stenosis of the larynx, hypertrophy of the inferior turbinates and deviated nasal septum. Enlarged tonsils cause narrowing of the airway in the throat, so the patient often breathes through the mouth, leading to snoring.

Dr. Phuong explains that breathing through the mouth creates an opportunity for bacteria and viruses to attack, aggravate tonsillitis, and cause the disease to recur. Inferior turbinate hypertrophy and deviated nasal septum also cause nasal obstruction, leading to difficulty breathing and prolonged nasal congestion. At this time, air passing through the narrow nasal passage causes loud breathing, especially when sleeping. This is also another factor leading to snoring.

Dr. Phuong prescribed tonsillectomy to help Hai clear his airway and reduce snoring. “If not operated on, the tonsil infection can recur, causing airway obstruction,” the doctor said. After weighing the pros and cons of medical and surgical treatment, the doctor combined inferior turbinate reshaping surgery, uvula reshaping surgery, and deviated nasal septum surgery to treat loud snoring, nasal congestion, difficulty breathing, and sleep apnea.

The “4 in 1” surgery helps patients avoid multiple surgeries, but there will be two incisions in the nose and mouth, causing more discomfort. To overcome this, the surgical team performs a tonsillectomy, reshaping the uvula and palate using Coblator technology to help stop bleeding on the spot, with less pain and without damaging the patient’s surrounding tissues. Next, the endoscopic team performs nasal turbinate reshaping to reduce the size of the lower turbinate and reshape the septum. The doctor places soft material on each side of the nasal cavity to fix the septum and stop bleeding.

The next day, this soft material was removed, Mr. Hai could breathe through both nostrils, with less discomfort, preserving nasal sinus function. After surgery, he recovered well and was discharged after 24 hours. After a follow-up visit two weeks later, his nasal congestion, difficulty breathing and suffocation while sleeping were reduced, and his snoring improved significantly.

“Before, I thought snoring was genetic and incurable,” said Mr. Hai, adding that he was lucky to have discovered the disease early and received timely treatment.

Snoring can be caused by physiological reasons such as overwork, after drinking too much alcohol, incorrect sleeping position. The cause is also due to diseases such as tonsillitis, deviated septum… If not treated promptly, snoring due to disease can cause complications such as high blood pressure, diabetes, memory loss, sexual dysfunction, household accidents, stroke.

Patients with abnormalities such as loud snoring with headaches, fatigue upon waking, lack of alertness, sleepiness the next day… should go to an ENT specialist for diagnosis and treatment.