February is the month for lovers. But there’s nothing romantic about snoring, especially when it is chronic.
Fortunately for your love life, Dr. Volpi can perform radiofrequency ablation of the tongue to shrink some of those tissues that are getting in the way of your airflow, causing your snoring.
These are simple procedures Dr. Volpi performs in our two eos Sleep locations on Park Avenue and Central Park West.
What is radiofrequency ablation of the tongue?
With radiofrequency ablation of the tongue, Dr. Volpi aims to tighten and shrink the base of the tongue. By tightening and shrinking these tissues, this prevents the tongue from falling backward and blocking or impeding the airway while the patient is sleeping.
Why is radiofrequency ablation of the tongue necessary?
Dr. Volpi may opt to perform this simple procedure if other methods of reducing your snoring have not made a noticeable impact. This procedure targets:
- Enlarged tongue
- Limp tongue muscles
- Snoring
- Sleep apnea caused by the tongue
How is ablation of the tongue performed?
The tongue is primarily composed of muscle. During sleep, the muscle can relax, and this can block or impede your airway. Radiofrequency ablation of the tongue works by using a specially designed probe to heat the tongue tissues in a controlled fashion. This heating creates a certain amount of tissue damage, and as these tissues heal scar tissue forms. Because scar tissue is less elastic than normal tongue tissue, this shrinks the tongue slightly, and it also makes it less likely the tongue will fall backward to block the airway during sleep.
These procedures only take about 30 minutes and only require local anesthesia. Recovery is fast, and the possibility of damage to surrounding tissues is minimal thanks to Dr. Volpi’s board-certified training, expertise, and experience. Dr. Volpi is a board-certified otolaryngology surgeon.
Do you want to do something about your snoring? That would be the ultimate Valentine’s gift for your partner. Give us a call at eos Sleep, (212) 873-6036, and set up a consultation with Dr. Volpi.