Credentials

Procedure is Now Available to Help Surgeons Stitch Away Snoring

BALA CYNWYD, Pa. -- Polyester is used in all types of clothing, home furnishings and as a reinforcing fiber in tires, belts, and hoses as well as many medical devices and materials. Now the surgeons at the Center for Corrective Surgery use them to reinforce the tissues in the roof of the mouth to treat snoring.

"We use a highly sophisticated non-absorbable polyester implant known as Pillar Palatal Implant System, from Restore Medical, Inc. in St. Paul, to improve people's most embarrassing, social and personal problem of snoring," according to Dr. Mansoor Madani, director of the center.

"This is achieved without cutting tissues or inflicting pain," says Madani, chairman of the department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Capital Health System in Trenton, N.J.

The implant consists of three pieces of polyester yarn less than an inch long. They are inserted into the soft palate on the roof of the mouth. They prompt the tissue to stiffen and in turn reduce the "flutter" which is the main culprit in the snoring sound.

"There is no single surgical procedure that can completely cure snoring," says Madani, an internationally renowned surgeon known for his pioneering research in the field of sleep apnea and snoring. "What I like about this system is that it does not involve heating or removing tissue, which minimizes swelling and post-procedure pain. It is retrievable as well. Most patients can resume normal activities and diet shortly after the procedure."

Approximately 40 million Americans who snore are forced to sleep in separate bedrooms because of snoring sounds. "Approximately 70 percent of snoring patients spend more time apart than together," according to Madani. Snoring occurs when the upper airway becomes partially obstructed as the body relaxes into sleep. As an individual inhales during sleep, air movement causes the relaxed tissues on the roof of the mouth to vibrate against the back of the throat, thus creating the snoring sound.

Madani is going to compare the long-term stability and effectiveness of this system with laser and radio frequency, the other surgical techniques he has been using in the past, and present these findings at the 86th annual meeting of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons in San Francisco Sept. 29 through Oct. 2, 2004.

"At this time it's too soon to say if polyester implants can be effective for all individuals who snore, but the initial feedback is promising," says Madani. The cost of the implant procedure is $2,100.

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