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Tracheostomy anyone?
#21
RE: Tracheostomy anyone?
Robotic surgery has little additional effect on the outcome of any form of surgery, with the exception that it is more finely tuned and often less invasive, leading to shorter recovery times and less damage going in, rummaging around and getting out again. A few types of procedures show a marked benefit from using robots - prostate surgery, for instance, shows a massively lowered incidence of incontinence and sexual dysfunction afterwards, since the robot scalpels are less likely to damage nerves (not to mention that you suddenly have a microscopic pair of eyes letting you see those nerves in better detail than if you were standing over a patient wearing your fly specs), and certain other forms of keyhole surgery show better results, particularly in delicate operations and some oncological procedures, but at this point there is no "new" form of tracheotomy or other procedure that would be of concern to this forum that shows better results than by traditional methods - merely finer work - the question of after care has not changed, nor any increase of effectiveness of any of the forms of surgery discussed on this forum. UPPPs performed via robot, and so far that is very rare, have not been at all more effective in outcome than by hand, nor have any types of surgical "cures" for Apnoea. The da Vinci salesmen are constantly showing us the latest and greatest, and yes, I am impressed by a lot of it, and in some cases it really beats keyhole surgery or traditional cutting, but for the purposes of this forum, it is meaningless. Maybe when someone comes up with something better, but I suspect that any improvements in invasive treatments for Apnoea will be in the form of implants and not excision.
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#22
RE: Tracheostomy anyone?
(10-07-2013, 05:43 PM)Peter_C Wrote: FYI - In the last 2+ yrs I've lost some 70 pounds (still need to lose more), with no noticeable benefit to my OSA (although it hasn't gotten worse either).

Peter, congratulations on the shedding of the avoirdupois, keep up the good work!

Weight loss has tremendous benefits for anyone who is overweight. As I have said elsewhere on this forum, your mileage may vary in terms of benefit for Apnoea, since there are many factors involved, and tissue once loosened will not tighten without some other means, such as either radio scarring (DON'T DO IT, OR EVEN THINK OF IT!) or playing the digeridoo to retone the throat.

What weight loss does in terms of Apnoea is reduce the fat around the neck, which may be impinging on the trachea and narrowing the windpipe. So if this contributing factor is removed, but you still have a wobbly uvula or a lax throat tissue, then that has to be treated separately.

To therefore think that you might as well not bother to lose weight is asinine in the extreme - the health benefits are massive, as will be the life extending abilities of weight loss. So drop the kilos and keep dropping them and exercise. You will still feel better and may well reduce your Apnoea in the bargain.

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#23
RE: Tracheostomy anyone?
(10-05-2013, 11:58 PM)Tim M Wrote: Has anyone had a tracheostomy for Apnea? How difficult was the recovery and life afterward? How is you Apnea now?

RUN ... LIKE ... HELL!!!!

FIND !!!!

ANOTHER !!!!

DOCTOR!!!!

OK, slight exaggeration, but unless you have some very unusual and difficult apnea problems, this is a bad idea. Try every other option first.
Get the free OSCAR CPAP software here.
Useful links.
Click here for information on the main alternative to CPAP.
If it's midnight and a DME tells you it's dark outside, go and check it yourself.
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