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You're not the worst….The 1986 Guiness Book of World Records reports the loudest snore was 87.5 decibels recorded June 28, 1984 recorded from Melvyn Switzer of Hampshire, England. His wife was deaf in one ear.
Home Published Articles Tongue Base Reduction Temperature-controlled radiofrequency tongue base reduction for sleep-disordered breathing: Long-term outcomes
Temperature-controlled radiofrequency tongue base reduction for sleep-disordered breathing: Long-term outcomes Print E-mail

Kasey K Li et al. Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery;127(3):230-234

 

My take:

This study suggests that initial improvement in sleep apnea seen with radiofrequency tongue base reduction declines with time (over years).  There is a pretty major flaw that the equipment changed during the study which can account for this change.  There was also an average weight gain which would worsen sleep apnea.  Patient’s symptoms did not change over time.   

This study shows the technique is safe with no long term problems. 

Further studies will have to be done before we can confirm whether there is a slow deterioration.  If there is deterioration, studies will than have to be done to determine if repeating the procedure will reverse the deterioration without side effect.  All other snoring procedures have shown a slow deterioration over time.

 

Summary:

The initial pilot study on patients was done on patients with moderate to severe sleep apnea.  It demonstrated short term effectiveness and safety of using a low temperature radiofrequency device to perform tongue base reduction.  In the pilot project repeated procedures were performed to obtain optimal results.    This study was done to measure long-term success of radiofrequency tongue base reduction.  They followed 18 patients from an initial pilot study for at least 2 years after their procedure.  Patients filled out questionnaires, another sleep study was done, and x-rays were taken and compared to previous ones to measure changes in airway over time.  

The equipment used in the sleep study changed over the 2 year period to one that was more sensitive to airflow changes.  This is a flaw in the study and can account for some of the results.

 

Results:

Sixteen patients completed the study – 2 were lost to follow-up.  There was an average of 3kg of weight gain in this group.  There was a significant worsening of the AHI and snoring over the 2 years – but we must remember the equipment used changed over the 2 years so this might not be accurate.  There was still a significant improvement in sleep apnea, sleepiness, and snoring compared to before treatment.