There is only a few laser assisted snoring surgery available today. In this article I would like to talk about two of them and what you should expect. I will cover areas like the diet you are expected to keep and for how long. I will also cover some general instructions and what problems you might encounter during your recovery period. The two types of laser assisted snoring surgery are the laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty and the one step laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty. Both of them sounds remarkably similar and indeed they are. There is only one distinct feature that differentiate the two of them, and I shall be discussing them below.
The laser assisted uvulopalastoplasty is a laser snoring surgery that uses a laser to burn or scar your uvula and the surrounding soft tissue. This is to enlarge your airways and to tigthen the loose tissue. I talked about this on the snoring surgery article on this website. You can read about it and compare it with other surgeries.
In this article, I will be talking more sbout the post operation preparation and what problems you might encounter. This applies to a patient that has undergo the laser-assisted Uvulo-Palato-Plasty (LAUP), Uvulo-Palato-Pharyngo-Plasty (UPPP) and the Radio Frequency Uvulo-Palato-Plasty.
On the first day, you should avoid all spicy food and condiment like pepper, salsas, chilli and etc. Drink lots of water to maintain hydration level but avoid drinking orange juice, grapefruit juice, and tomato juice for at least one week after the operation. This is because the juices will make your throat burn like hell.
On the second day you can eat soft foods like cheese, mashed potatoes, pureed vegetables, and eggs. You still need to drink lots of water to maintain hydration. (preferably warm water as it is less irritating)
On the third to fifth day you can resume your normal eating behavior. Avoid seasoned and spicy food, but other than that you are OK. You should avoid spicy food for about 2 weeks after the surgery. You should also avoid coughing and clearing of the throat if you can help it.
For the first seven to ten days, you will be prescribed painkillers in the form of codeine or hydrocodone. (of course, you might be prescribed some totally different painkillers, this is not a set in the stone) The side effects of these painkillers is nausea, drowsiness and constipation so your doctor might even pescribe you with Phenegan suppositories. Your doctor might also pescribe you with Benzocaine (a local anesthetic spray) to relieve your pain at the affected area.
Here are some of the “side-effects” and “symptoms” you might notice after your surgery. They is nothing to be afraid of and is normal. You might notice some bad breath, gray or white membrane on the affected area, and ear ache and fever is to be expected. (Unless it got worse you should ignore it. This is not a medical advice as I am not a doctor. Please ask your doctor about this.)
The second laser surgery for snoring that I want to talk about is the one stop laser assisted uvulopalastoplasty. The main difference between this and the normal laser surgery for snoring is that the one-stop ones is exactly that. One stop. With the normal LAUP, you will need multiple visits to the surgeon. This one stop LAUP only take one time 95% of the time. (The study published on the Otolargyngology journal in June 1996 has 200 patient. Only 10 had to undergo second treatment.) This is a major convenience and time saving feature.
The one stop LAUP is also called the one stage LAUP. The treatment is effective for both snoring and sleep apnea problem. It is also extremely effective from what I read from the journal of Otolargyngology. In 83% of the patient, the improvements were in between 75% to 100% improvements. For those with sleep apnea, (which is 33% of the 200. 74 people) 96% reported that they have more restful sleep and have more energy during the day time. Usually a pretty decent predictor of non-existence of sleep apnea. If you are interested to know how the procedure works and why it is so effective, you should read it here.