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Permalink Reply by Mike on May 11, 2011 at 9:46pm

I've heard from credible sources (ENT physicians who do the procedure) that it does not work.  I suspect it's because it doesn't address the entire airway.

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Permalink Reply by Chris on May 12, 2011 at 1:44am

But they do it anyway? What else would be the problem?

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Permalink Reply by Mike on May 13, 2011 at 2:47pm

sorry took me so long to respond.  Yes, Chris.  This particular ENT will advise his patients against doing the procedure.  I think he might do it from time to time though (i'm not naming names here).  i think not addressing the entire airway is the problem.  i see you're in NY.  if i were you, I'd get evaluated by Dr. Park before doing any surgical procedure.  he's a surgeon also, but one exceptionally well acquainted with sleep breathing disorders.

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Permalink Reply by Steven Y. Park, MD on May 13, 2011 at 4:33pm

Chris,

 

You can think of the Pillar procedure as another variation of a soft palatal stiffening procedure. It's like a UPPP, but only less invasive and with lesser amount of stiffening. Even their studies on using Pillars for sleep apnea showed that although it did work to significantly reduce the AHI in some patients, the overall success rate was slightly less than the rate for the UPPP (as expected). However, it can be useful in a few very carefully selected patients, where the soft palate is the major source of obstruction and vibrations. The only way to tell is to look with an endoscopy. 

 

My recommendation is to first completely re-evaluate your CPAP situation, since many CPAP problems can be resolved with a few trouble-shooting steps. If your nose is stuffy, that needs to be addressed as well. If you finally decide CPAP isn't for you, then there are a number of other proven ways of treating obstructive sleep apnea.

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Permalink Reply by Chris on May 13, 2011 at 4:46pm

What would be the other proven ways of treatment?

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Permalink Reply by Dave on May 15, 2011 at 7:00am

I just saw on CBS local New York a story about the pillar procedure.    Did you hear about this on TV as well recently?

 

The abridged version of what I just saw on TV is shown here with Dr. Volpi of the Manhattan Sleeping & Snoring Center.  On TV, however, the video followed up with Dr. Vipin Garg who gave a good over view of the many treatment options.  What you really need is a good ENT/procedure agnostic professional who can help you navigate many proven ways of treatment.  

 

So to try to answer your question, there are many proven treatments, however, many proven treatments might not work for your particular case.  You must find doctors (I prefer a good ENT) that are procedure agnostic and can steer you in the right direction.  Just be careful, lots of doctors are getting into sleep and don't know all that much or are biased to particular procedures/treatments.  Educate yourself and don't rush into surgery :)

 

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Permalink Reply by Chris H on May 15, 2011 at 3:43pm

Hi Chris, I know 2 dentists whom tries it on each other..... Neither had good positioning of the implants and subsiquent failure overall requiring more invasive measures to remove the implants.

 Good Sleep,Chris

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