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Anyone had orthognathic surgery to treat OSA? - Printable Version

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Anyone had orthognathic surgery to treat OSA? - Nozzelnut - 02-10-2014

Has anyone had or know anyone that has had orthognathic surgery to treat OSA? Basically a jaw moving surgery that can open the airway and fix bite problems.

Wondering if it helped with the OSA and if the benefit was worth the risk.

Just exploring all the options for treatment.

Thanks
Scott




RE: Anyone had orthgnathic surgery to treat OSA? - SnuffySleeper - 02-10-2014

Not me, but I am interested in peoples experiences with this. One of my first questions after being diagnosed with OSA was doing this surgery and my doctor just flat out said, it's not worth it. I am not sure if that was specifically meant for me, or the surgery in general.


RE: Anyone had orthgnathic surgery to treat OSA? - JWR - 02-10-2014

I'm with Snuffysleeper . Not interested any kinda surgery thats not a guarantee to work . I actually Enjoy my bipap , sometimes I think my wife thinks I like it more than her . Not really, but its close . Dreaming



RE: Anyone had orthognathic surgery to treat OSA? - eviltim - 02-10-2014

Yep.

I had both of my jaws advanced with the hope of helping out my OSA.

It didn't help with the sleep apnea a whole lot. I didn't have sleep tests bookending the surgery, but frankly anything less than a total cure would not have been worth going through that ordeal, and I still had (and have) moderate sleep apnea well after healing up from the surgery.

I don't regret it, because I had to have it for orthodontic reasons. I can't say I would recommend it as a sleep apnea treatment, though if you have other reasons for it in addition to sleep apnea, it may be worthwhile, and it was covered by my insurance becuase of the sleep apnea.



RE: Anyone had orthognathic surgery to treat OSA? - Peter_C - 02-11-2014

I had different surgery than described above. I do not remember what it is called, but basically my 'flappy' was removed, they removed tissue from various places, and (I was told this by the Doc) they "microwaved the back of my tongue" to shrink it...

For 'some' people this is 'supposed' to me a magic bullet, but for me there was no such expectation - but it *did* lower my pressure roughly 4-5 points. I would not do it over by choice, but my nose surgery was GREAT~!!! No more holding my breath while kissing WOO-HOO!!


RE: Anyone had orthognathic surgery to treat OSA? - Nozzelnut - 02-11-2014

Thanks for the replies. It wouldn't be specifically for sleep apnea for me; I have some orthodontic issues returning too. I've been clenching, grinding, and have bad bite alignment for a bit and it's getting worse. Without intervention it could cause significant issues down the road.

It seems like those issues are intertwined for me; when I close my teeth, the front teeth meet then the lower jaw gets pushed back a couple mm then the molars meet. That stretches the TMJ and leads to more bite problems and pain.

And I have huge tonsils; those are probably coming out in April.

Just exploring all my options and seeing what others have experienced.



RE: Anyone had orthognathic surgery to treat OSA? - eviltim - 02-11-2014

In that case, it could certainly be a good idea. The surgery was painful and the recovery was difficult, but I have no lasting issues. I would highly advise you find a surgeon that treats patients with sleep apnea, I have heard of patients having their jaws moved back which can actually make it worse and that sort of thing.



RE: Anyone had orthognathic surgery to treat OSA? - Nozzelnut - 02-11-2014

I haven't had a consult with the oral surgeon yet. But, my orthodontist specializes in treating TMJD, has been working with a couple OS's for a long time and has seen their results. He brought up the surgery as part of my whole treatment; not just the orthodontic side or the OSA side, saying there's a possibility that it could help with both. I like the idea of treating the whole instead of individual parts as being separate.

I've looked through a couple blogs and other message boards and it seems like the first couple weeks are hell, but it gets better after that.


RE: Anyone had orthognathic surgery to treat OSA? - eviltim - 02-11-2014

Yeah, I was in crippling pain for about two weeks or so. After that it went away. The dietary restrictions get old very quickly but aren't the end of the world.