Snoring is dangerous; coblation can be helpful

Tribune News Service

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Ludhiana, May 13

Parminder, a resident of Sangatpur Dhesi village in this district, had serious snoring problems and was also suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) for the past six to seven years. Now, he is cured. Thanks to the specialists at the local SPS Hospital.

The ENT Department of the SPS Hospital has introduced coblation and plans to conduct a workshop on snoring and OSA to create public awareness about these two ailments.

Dr Rajiv Kapila, Senior Consultant, ENT Department, said: “The OSA is a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops. It starts during sleep due to the obstruction of upper airway. The OSA is an epidemic and its incidence is increasing as is closely related to obesity. Prevalence of OSA is 3-10 per cent which may be higher in Punjab.”

The risk factors for OSA include advanced age, male sex, obesity, family history, smoking and alcohol consumption. Untreated OSA leads to many adverse medical conditions such as stroke, hypertension, heart failure, heart attack (CAD), DM (insulin resistance) and neuro-cognitive dysfunction, he said.

Dr Kapila said the Department of ENT is specially trained and equipped to treat cases with the latest coblation techniques available at the SPS hospitals. The OSA is under diagnosed and less than 10 per cent of the people are aware of it. He said efforts were being made to educate the general public to understand the ill-effects of the disease and treatment facilities available.

Coblation is the latest technology in this field which helps in this surgical procedure with minimal blood loss and minimal pain. This includes tonsillectomy adenoidectomy, nasal, palatal and tongue base surgeries. Surgical treatment of OSA has always been a challenge but with newer technologies such as coblation it was possible.