Treatment

The main aim is to treat snoring, especially when breathing pauses occur. Treatment may also be appropriate even when no breathing pauses have been documented.

Depending on the cause, options include improving nasal airflow, tightening the soft palate or removing the tonsils.

The extent of treatment depends on the individual findings. An outpatient LASER procedure is often sufficient; in other cases, inpatient surgery under general anaesthesia may be necessary.

In severe obesity and severe obstructive sleep apnoea, CPAP therapy is often indicated. Continuous positive airway pressure delivered through a mask keeps the airway open during sleep.

To make this therapy work reliably, surgical improvement of nasal breathing may sometimes be required beforehand.